Fast Foward
by Jaina Eowyn
Summary: Ella and Char's daughter Avalla is brought to a world completely new to her where she will learn new skills that she will use to help her family when they most need it... Read the story, not the summary. It's a LOT better. Please R&R. (updated randomly)
1. Chapter One: The Door

Disclaimer: The characters you recognize from Ella Enchanted are not mine (duh); they all belong to the wonderful lady Gail Carson Levine, who wrote Ella. Other than that, it's all mine, hehe.

Fast Forward

By Jaina Eowyn

**Chapter One: The Door  
**

It's not easy being a princess. Just ask someone who knows.

My lungs struggled to pump enough oxygen to keep my legs pounding the ground. I glanced behind me. He was still following. I turned down a side alley, hoping to throw him off by weaving through winding alleys and streets. I _had_ to get there before him. I glanced behind me again. My ploy hadn't worked. He was still there.

I looked ahead. There it was. I was pretty sure I'd be able to get there before my pursuer and before getting caught. I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. I somersaulted forwards to avoid the person who tried to jump me, tucking my arms in front of me to protect my prize.

I ran through the open door into the light of the lamps and thrust the flag into the waiting jar. I grinned as my teammates clapped me on the back, calling congratulations. The other team grimaced good-naturedly, but congratulated me nonetheless. Allán, our leader, smiled as he walked over.

"Good work, Val. Looks like Team Royals wins again." He smirked at his second-in-command, Dirk, who was the leader of Team Tactic.

We played these little games once a week, hiding a flag anywhere in town that the other team had to steal and return to the Silver Dove Inn before being caught and the flag recaptured, or before the other team got their flag in first. My team, Team Royals, had won the past three weeks in a row. I grinned, thinking of what my mother would think if she saw her daughter in a plain brown tunic and leggings and with dirt all over me.

Let me explain. My name is Princess Avalla Shirra Fealla Charlla, daughter of Queen Ella and King Charmont of Kyrria. My mother finally decided to take her proper title once my father became king, mainly because the people of our country begged her to. I am fifteen years old and am rather ordinary, which I am told is not your typical princess. But then again, I'm not your ordinary princess anyways.

I've never liked being a princess. When you're a princess, you have all these responsibilities and stuff. For example, today I had to go to a stupid ball that happens every year a couple weeks after my birthday. But right now, I was going out to town on my usual escape night.

Now that we had played our little game of Capture the Flag, we usually went on a little foray.

"So, what's on the agenda now?" I asked Allán.

"Well, I was thinking we might pull a raid on the royal kitchens and grab a snack."

I grinned. "And let me guess: you're probably planning to pull a few jokes in addition to the raid?"

They were always pulling pranks whenever we did a job. We stole little things like pasties, and we always left some money to pay for them if we grabbed them from an inn or something. The royal kitchens, though, I had convinced them, could more than easily pay for a few pasties, as I knew full well, since I lived in the palace, though none of the others knew that.

Allán smiled wickedly and nodded. "Dirk found some tunnels that lead into the gardens, too, he added.

Ooh, a new escape route. If I'm ever discovered, I can just use _that_ way to get out of the palace.

"Well, come on, then, what are we waiting for?" One of the other boys asked eagerly, "let's _go_."

The other nine of us trooped after Allán and Dirk, our band's leaders, who led us behind a nearby stable. Under a mat of grass and leaves, Allán rummaged through the grass to grab an iron ring and pulled.

"Here we are," he announced triumphantly as he started to climb down. I clambered in behind Dirk as Allán called back, "Syrra, make sure you close the door behind you." Syrra nodded as she climbed in, last of all.

I knew I was probably taking a bit of a risk, since Teera, the cook, knew me, but I didn't really care. It just made this foray all the more exciting for me.

We all crawled after Allán, the ceiling being just couple feet higher (at the most) than the tops of our backs. We finally came to a dead end and Allán reached up to grasp a handle and pushed up just enough so he could look out. He and Dirk checked the premises before they climbed out, motioning for the rest of us to follow.

We emerged into the garden near a pavilion that the court often spent time on in the summer. We crept silently past it and I led them to the kitchens. I had professed to be a maid at the palace so that my knowledge of the grounds and other things around there wouldn't be remarked upon, so they relied on me to lead them to our goal tonight.

Allán sent Dirk in to see if anyone was there. Dirk came back shaking his head.

"All right, since there's no one there, I want Val and Syrra to go in and grab some pasties. We need eleven; here's a bag to carry them."

I nodded, knowing that there was a decent chance I'd be caught. I'd snuck down to the kitchens to get midnight snacks before and Teera had caught me. I was hoping I'd just be able to talk my way out of it if I got caught when Syrra spied the pasties and motioned me to come help put them in the bag.

"An' jus' what do you think ye're doin'?"

We froze, halfway through putting the ninth pasty in the bag. Heavy hands slowly spun us around to face Teera, the big chef. She glared down at us.

"You plannin' on stealin' from their roy-" She broke off abruptly, obviously having recognized me.

"H – hi, Teera," I stuttered.

"What're you doin' in here, yer ma – maid-ness," she amended herself quickly after a slight shake of my head. I didn't want her to say 'majesty', since Syrra didn't know that's what I was.

"I – I was just showing my friend around the kitchens."

"In the dead of night? With a bag full of my good pasties that are for their majesties breakfast tomorrow?"

Oops. I quickly put them back. I knew I'd get a lot more of Teera's delicious pasties if I had them for breakfast instead of having one with everyone else in the group.

"Now, out of here, Val, or I'll make sure you get extra duties tomorrow."

Oh, great. That meant she'd let my governess know that I should be allowed to have more assignments for my schoolwork. I sighed and handed the bag to Teera as Syrra and I slumped dejectedly back outside.

"Where's the pasties?" Allán asked suspiciously as we walked empty-handed back to the others.

"We got _caught_," Syrra complained. "I don't know how, since _Dirk_ said that there wasn't anyone _in_ there." She shot the unfortunate Dirk a glare.

"Well, at least she didn't turn us in," I reminded them, hoping Allán wouldn't be too mad at us.

Allán shrugged. "Whatever happened, it's done. Let's go back," he added starting down the tunnel again. I shook my head.

"I need to go back before I get caught again."

Allán shrugged again. "Your loss. The rest of you, come on."

The others followed him down the hole as I went back towards the kitchens.

The next morning, I woke up to a loud knocking at my door.

"Come in," I groggily called.

My mother stomped in. "Just _what_ did you think you were doing, sneaking out last night with some strange girl?"

"Syrra? I've known her for _ages_, though." In fact, she had been the one who had introduced me to Allán's band, as well as the one who had suggested I climb out my window to escape.

"_Ages?_"

"Well, since I was ten or so. We just meet with some of the others and –"

"_Others?_"

"_Mother_, they're just my _friends_."

She sighed and sat down on the bed. "I'm sorry if I sounded harsh. Truthfully, I personally don't care if you have common-born friends, since my parents weren't royalty or anything, and your father doesn't mind too much either.

"But Val, you're growing up. You're not ten anymore. You're fifteen, and you need to start acting your age. Your father and I would be more than happy to let you be our little girl for the rest of your life, but other people expect you to act like the princess you are, and I need you to start showing them that you can.

"Now, please get cleaned up. You have to go to the ball tonight, and I want you to look like a proper young lady by sometime before dinner."

She got up and left, closing the door behind her, leaving me alone. I turned over onto my stomach and screamed into my pillow.

"Now isn't _he_ the handsome one, Princess?" Milla, one of my ladies-in-waiting asked. I looked at where her finger was pointing to a young prince out on the dance floor who was looking down his nose at the young nobleman's daughter with whom he was dancing.

I sighed and shrugged. I'd already met him. "Sure, Milla. He's also a stuck-up prig who thinks that anyone else other than him isn't worthy of existing on this earth."

Milla sighed. "You'll _have_ to pick a man tonight, Avalla." She abruptly covered her mouth with her hand and looked horrified, as if she had blurted out a royal secret.

I eyed her. "What do you mean?" I asked suspiciously.

She looked down at her lap in embarrassment, and then glanced back up at me. "Well… your mother was going to have you choose a husband tonight…"

I shot out of my chair, drawing a few stares from the few people who weren't dancing. "_What_?" I hissed at Milla. She pushed herself back in her seat away from me.

"I'm sorry! I should have let her tell you."

I glared at Milla, and then pushed my chair back from the table where we had been eating and stormed off to find my mother.

I found her sitting with Arieda, her best friend from Ayortha whom she invited to just about every social gathering we held. I marched up to her.

"Sorry, Arieda," I growled, taking Mother's arm, "but we've got to _talk_."

I pulled her into the first room we passed. Mother stared at me.

"Val, what's the matter?" She asked anxiously.

I stared fixedly at her. "Don't you know?"

She shook her head, but the look in my eyes must have told her. She groaned and slid a weary hand down her face. "Did Milla tell you?" She asked with a sigh. I nodded. She sighed again. "That woman is such a _meddlemouth_. I _told_ her not to say anything."

I nodded, having a hard time keeping from grinning at her description of Milla. It fit her _so_ well. Just add annoying and you'd have Milla to a _T_.

Then my face slid back into its previous angry stare as I remembered _what_ meddlemouth had told me. "So, when _were_ you going to tell me?"

Mother fiddled nervously with her skirt. "Well, we were going to tell you tonight." I didn't answer, so she continued. "We've had an offer for your hand…" She trailed off and I gaped at her. _PLEASE _don't tell me they actually _accepted_. That was all I could think. I was too stunned to speak for a moment to speak, but when I did finally start to say something, Mother cut me off.

"No, no, we did not accept. That was why I wanted to see if you would actually choose anyone tonight or if you would refuse. If you had refused, there was a chance that we would have had to accept the offer for you, for the good of the country," she added hastily. I stared at her, firming my lips into a tight line. She smiled, too brightly.

"But now that you know, you will choose someone, won't you, Val?"

I stared at her. "No. I know you'll probably send me off to some far away prince's kingdom to meet him and 'get to know him' anyways, so why bother?"

Mother sighed. "Well, yes, if you do not choose tonight, I suppose we will have to."

I nodded. "I'd rather do that, since at least then I can say I got to know him and didn't like him." I turned on my heel and marched out of the little room, leaving Mother staring after me.

I knew I had probably startled her at least a little, if not hurt her feelings just a bit. But it wasn't _my_ fault that she hadn't told me sooner. Maybe if she'd _prepared_ me for it instead of just _springing_ it on my like this… But she hadn't, so that was that.

A few days later, I was riding my horse towards Maith, a nearby kingdom that had offered for my hand on the night of the ball. The prince wasn't quite _so_ bad, as princes go, but he was somewhat clumsy and could be sort of dumb sometimes.

The trip would be a few days long, so I wore a snug fitting traveling dress, although I don't know how anyone could call it a 'traveling dress'. It was too fancy. It looked like a merchant's daughter's best dress, the one she would wear to a ball or something, but it was comfortable enough, so I was all right with it. I even had to wear a cloak with it, too. They were both a pretty midnight blue that I liked, but they were still too fancy. It was ridiculous, too, since it was almost summer and rather warm, even for late spring.

The first day was rather uneventful, but the second day, we had lunch in a beautiful meadow. I ate my own food rather fast and then wandered around the meadow for a while. To my surprise, I spied something in the distance.

I ran towards it. When I was within ten feet of it, I stopped in shock. I had thought my eyes were playing tricks on my when I was farther away, but now I was close, I could see that I had been right. It was a door. Just a plain, ordinary door sitting in the middle of the meadow. Well, that's stupid, I thought. Why would anyone be dumb enough to put a door in the middle of a meadow? There wasn't even a house around it!

I walked up to it and examined it. Upon further inspection, I found writing on the doorframe. Here is the inscription:

The one to whom this door has found,

To you I give this key.

The door will open for you alone,

For thee and only thee.

Once through the door, you shall not fear,

One day you shall return.

In three years hence,

This door you'll find

And enter once again.

Tell loved ones, friends, and all you know,

Grieve not now for me.

I shall return once more to you

And find you happily.

I stared at the door. All at once, in place of the word 'key', there was a golden key set in an outline of a key. It was just a simple, boring key with a little circle at the top. I placed my finger in the circle and pulled it out. Once it was out of the door, the shape immediately changed back into the word 'key'.

Making a quick decision, I ran back to my bags, pulled out a piece of paper and scribbled a message to Mother. I walked over to the head guard and handed it to him after I had sealed it in an envelope. I had also stuffed a few things into a bag and

"Please give this to my mother in case I don't come back." I quickly handed it to him and then started running back to the door, feeling it pulling me towards it. As I ran, I could hear his thoughts: _Now isn't she an odd one. Eh, must have inherited it from her mother. Couldn't have been her father._

I've had this odd ability since as far back as I can remember. I've never told anyone about it, not even my mother. It can be rather disturbing at times, being able to hear people's thoughts. I don't even know when it's going to happen. Its like they just suddenly open up their minds to me and I can hear them thinking. I hate it, but I don't know how to get rid of it.

I ran towards the door like a fish being reeled in by a fisherman's line, except that I didn't resist. Somehow, I felt like I couldn't. It almost felt as if I had the same curse Mother had when she was younger and someone had commanded me to go to the door. She wouldn't have been able to resist when she was my age, and neither could I.

I finally reached the door and almost smashed up against it. I pulled myself to a stop just in time and grasped the door handle. Taking a deep breath, I pulled open the door. On the other side, I could see the rest of the meadow. I smiled and laughed at myself for actually thinking that it could be a magic door or something. Shrugging, I decided that I might as well go through now I had the door open. What the heck, you never know what might happen.

I stepped through and could almost feel the soft grass beneath my boots, and then without warning, I was falling for what seemed like an eternity.


	2. Chapter Two: New World

Disclaimer: The characters you recognize from Ella Enchanted are not mine, they all belong to the wonderful lady, Gail Carson Levine who wrote Ella. Other than that, it's all mine, hehe. Sorry its so long, but I had too much fun with this, hehe. Oh, Dive belongs to Steven Curtis Chapman (my favorite singer. squee!).

A/N: Review, PLEASE! Its what keeps me writing. If you read it, but don't review and I never get more than the one review I have now, I might give up and stop writing this.

**Chapter Two: New World**

I don't usually scream at much of anything, but as I fell, I screamed. It was pitch black, so I couldn't see anything; I couldn't feel my hands touching any walls or even my own dress, even though I knew I was; I couldn't even hear myself screaming!

After what seemed like forever, I suddenly wasn't falling anymore. I hit the ground with a thump and blacked out.

I came around to find a glass of water had just been splashed in my face. I jerked up and smashed foreheads with a boy who had been bending over me. I pushed backwards and up into a sitting position only to almost sit in another girls lap. She had been sitting behind me and I hadn't seen her. I sprang forwards again, jumping up this time to prevent myself from sitting on anyone else. Both of the strangers stood up, too, the boy rubbing his head.

"Who are you?" I asked in a gasp, still panting from the scare.

"Um, Shean and Kaetlin O'Connor," the boy replied, still rubbing his head where we had hit heads. He had the slightest of accents, almost undetectable, but definitely there. I couldn't identify where it was from, though.

"Where are you from? Maith?" I asked.

Shean raised an eyebrow. "Uh, no. Where is it? Kentucky?"

Now it was my turn to be confused. "Where's 'Kan-tuck-he'?" I asked, stumbling over the strange name. I saw the girl covering her mouth to hide her giggles. I knew I probably mispronounced it, but I didn't care. "Is it east of Kyrria?"

Both of them were staring at me now. "Uh, no. Its east of Washington, though, which is where we are."

"'Wash-in-town'?" I asked, stumbling over the name again. Where were all of these strange towns located? I'd never heard of them and I'd thought my geography tutor had taught me _everything_ there was to know about geography in those long, boring lessons.

"No, 'Wash-ing-ton'," Shean said again kindly, pronouncing it carefully. "It's the state we live in."

"State? What's a state?" I asked.

"Itsâ€ its" Shean stuttered. Kaetlin took over.

"Um, you know what a kingdom is?"

"Of course I do," I snorted, "I'm a princess."

Shean and Kaetlin exchanged glances and Kaetlin continued. "Well, a state is _kinda_ like that, except that each state is ruled by a governor and each governor answers to the President, which is kind of like a king ruling over a lord, I guess. I think" She added uncertainly.

I nodded, understanding a little better. There was a pause before Shean spoke again.

"So, where are _you_ from?"

"I'm from Kyrria. My name is Princess Avalla Shirra Fealla Charlla, daughter of Queen Ella and King Charmont. But you can just call me Val." They didn't speak. They were both staring at me open-mouthed. Then Kaetlin gave a nervous little giggle.

"You're joking, right?"

"Joking?" I cocked my head, trying to make out what she meant.

"Yeah, you know, like you're just playing around? You don't mean it? You're jesting?!" The last sentence sounded desperate, but I understood then and nodded my head.

"Oh, good, you're joking." I thought I could hear a note of relief in Katelin's voice. I shook my head. "But you can't be _serious_!"

I couldn't help being surprised. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

Kaetlin looked like she was choking, but Shean just stood there staring at me. Kaetlin pinched herself and then winced. "But that would mean you're from the UK!" She yelped.

"The – the 'UK'? What's that?"

Kaetlin stared at me. "You really are out of it. Shean, shouldn't we take her inside and see what Mum says?" There was silence. "Shean?" She shook his arm and he looked down at her as if she'd just taken him out of a wonderful dream.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess we should." Kaetlin gave him and odd look and then took my hand and pulled me inside the house.

I'd thought we were going to just walk in, but Shean grabbed a handle and slid open a door that a door that I hadn't seen before. "I-is that glass?" I asked.

Shean grinned. "Yeah. Pretty spiffy, huh? Mum makes us keep it so clean that I've seen birds run into it." He stuck out his tongue as if cleaning it was the worst thing in the world.

"Why do you have a glass door?"

"Uhâ€ uh" Shean paused. "You know, I don't know. I never thought about it before. That's a good question. I guess because it looks nice?" He didn't sound sure.

"But why would you buy a glass door when glass is already only used when we absolutely need it for windows or drinking glasses and that sort of thing?"

Shean looked puzzled. "We usually do. But we use it for doors, too. Its not really in that short a supply." I shrugged, not quite understanding, but not wanting a lengthy explanation or anything. Kaetlin dragged me inside and started calling "Mum!".

Soon, a medium sized lady walked in from another room, drying her hands on a cloth. "Oh, who do we have here, Kaet?" She asked in a cheery voice. Kaetlin and Shean pushed me forwards and I could see their mother looking me up and down, probably deciding if I was a good enough person to be with her children.

"This is Avalla, Mum," Shean said. "We're not sure exactly where she came from, someplace called Keera or something -"

I cut him off. "Kyrria. I'm Princess Avalla Shirra Fealla Charlla, daughter of Queen Ella and King Charmont of Kyrria. Pleased to meet you, my lady," I added, curtsying to her. I figured I'd better make a good impression or I'd find myself with no way to get home.

"I'm Sylva," the woman replied with a smile. "My, but don't you have just the best manners I've ever seen?" I gave her the nicest smile I could. "Um, do you have any other clothes, dear?" She asked, looked at my dress and cloak with a pained expression as she looked back and forth between me and Shean, and then glanced at Kaetlin. I shook my head. "Oh, um, Kaety, why don't you go and see if any of your clothes fit her, then?" She asked her daughter, pushing me towards the stairs, Kaetlin following. Kaetlin took my hand and pulled me up the stairs, towards her room, I presumed.

She pulled me into a room and closed the door. She looked at me and started giggling. "Where the heck did you get a dress like that? I don't think Mum liked it, especially with Shean standing right there." She dissolved into giggles, then pulled herself together. "So, lets see what I have" Only then did I really look at what she was wearing. My eyes widened. Kaetlin was wearing pants and a short-sleeved shirt!

She glanced back at me and saw me staring at her. "What?"

"Kaetlin, why aren't you wearing a dress?"

She looked puzzled. "No one _ever_ wears a dress anymore, except for church and dances and stuff. Oh, and you can call me Kaet or Kaety or something."

"Oh," was all I could think of to say.

"So, how's this?" Kaetlin – Kaet, I reminded myself, asked. She held up a pair of short pants made of a medium-heavy material, to judge by the way they hung. They were a green color that on most anything else wouldn't be complimentary, but on the pants, it didn't look too bad. I think it'd be called an 'olive' color. She was also holding a gray shirt with short sleeves that was made of a lighter material than the pants, but not as light as a dancing dress. I just looked at them. "Oh, these are called zip-off shorts, or cargo shorts, because of the pockets at the bottom, here," she said, pointing, "plus the fact that they zip back onto the bottoms of the legs to make them into pants again. And this is a T-shirt. Here, try them on. I can help you with your dress, if you want," she offered.

I thanked her and she helped me unfasten the dress and helped me fasten the shorts, as she called them. I stood in front of a full-length mirror and looked at myself. I looked different, but it seemed to fit my personality. Kaetlin rested her chin in her hand.

"Mm, something's not right." She snapped her fingers. "I know! Your hair."

"What's wrong with it?" I asked, bringing my hand up to my head. Kaetlin laughed.

"Nothing, it just isn't 'you'. Umâ€ oh, I know why. You don't seem like a girly-girl, and the ringlets make you look like that."

"But you have ringlets." I didn't understand. Kaetlin laughed again.

"Well, I'm Irish, so I guess it fits. Besides, I guess I kind of am a girly-girl. You're more of a tomboy. Here" She rummaged around in a little box full of interesting little things and pulled out a little band. She held it up. "Here, I'll pull out all the ringlets and then I'll put it in a high ponytail. Okay?" I nodded a little numbly, not sure what to make of this girl. She was kind, but she wasn't like any of the girls I know in Kyrria. She could take charge if she needed to, and yet she still acted like a girl. I couldn't understand it, but I decided that was just Kaetlin's personality. But she sure wouldn't fit into Kyrria. If she tried to tell _anyone_ what to do, she'd probably get sent to her room to 'think about what she was doing'. I knew so; I'd already done it.

Kaetlin tried not to hurt me as she combed out my curls, but it still did, like always. But soon she had my hair reasonably straight. I have never really thought that the ringlets I had to wear were very complimentary to me and they're a pain, but Mother said they make me look pretty. Like I cared.

Kaetlin took the brush and this time she pulled my hair up high, towards the top of my head. She pulled it up very high and pulled it into the band. It was so high that I could see the top of the ponytail rising above my head a little in the mirror. I went back to stand in front of the full-length mirror and surveyed myself.

I almost couldn't recognize myself. Well, of course I knew it was me, but the clothes and the ponytail made me look different somehow. My eyes looked more alive somehow with my hair pulled back and I lookedâ€ well, I'm not sure if I looked older or younger. But either way was good. I looked like I felt like inside now. I wasn't a princess anymore, shrouded in the mist of court life and illusions. I heard Kaetlin thinking.

_Wow, she looks even prettier now. Well, she's not a beauty or anything, not like a movie star, but she's pretty in a nice, almost plain way._

If I couldn't see her mouth in the mirror, I would have thought she was speaking aloud. I still hated hearing the thoughts, but it was nice to know that at least _someone_ thought I was even _remotely_ pretty. I think of myself as rather plain and I know I am because I've been told so, so this was the first time anyone had ever said I was pretty. Kaetlin broke into my thoughts.

"Avalla, lets go." I looked up at her.

"Please, call me Val." She smiled and nodded. She has a nice smile. It automatically makes you feel comfortable.

"Oh, hey," she suddenly said, turning to me. "Have you ever seen one of these?" She pointed to a box thingy that I can't exactly describe. I shook my head. "Well, it's a radio. Know what it does?" I shook my head. She grinned. "Then I'll show you."

She walked over to the box and turned a knobby thing. Suddenly music blasted my ears and I jumped so far back that my back hit the wall. I stared at the box in apprehension.

"How did it do that? Do you have tiny minstrels in there?" I asked, gathering up my courage to go over and touch the box. Kaetlin laughed.

"No. We have things called 'bands' who record songs so we can play them over and over again, and we also have things called 'radio stations' that play the songs and have people tell us what song is going to be played next." I smiled and nodded as if I understood, which I didn't. I _did_ start to sway with the music as I listened to the words pouring from the boxâ€ no, 'radio' I corrected myself.

I'm diving in, I'm going deep,

In over my head I wanna be,

Caught in the rush, lost in the flow,

In over my head I wanna go.

I could get to like this, I decided. Yes, I really I could.

A/N: Sadly, from now on, this is an alternate reality for this story. Ella Enchanted was never written or made into a movie. If you're sad/mad/whatever about that, please think about it. Avalla would find out about it sooner or later and then I would have to figure out some way that Mrs. Levine could have found out the true events. I know it's a fan fiction and so nothing has to have actually happened (like Mrs. Levine going to Kyrria), but I don't feel like doing it. Yes, it is because I am lazy. wink


	3. Chapter Three: Friends

Disclaimer: The characters you recognize from Ella Enchanted are not mine, duh; they all belong to the wonderful lady, Gail Carson Levine who wrote Ella. Other than that, it's all mine, hehe. The Change belongs to Steven Curtis Chapman. The Battle of the King belongs to me though. I know its lame, but it's the best I could do. I'm not very good at writing songs or poetry, hehe. If you have _any_ ideas to replace it (just about anything that she might know), PLEASE email me!!

I updated this so that now this is ONLY Chapter Three and Chapter Four is seperate.

A/N: Thank you _so_ much to all my wonderful reviewers! I never thought I could get 8 reviews in one day! I promise I'll update as often as I can. I'll try to write at least one short chapter per day, but I tend to make them longer than most and I'm writing an original version (not Ella Enchanted related) of this, and I have to write completely different chapters every time, so it may take a bit longer. But keep reviewing and I _promise_ I'll keep updating (this is too fun a story to write to stop anyways, lol)!

**Chapter Three: Friends**

"Come on, let's go down and see what Mum thinks." Kaetlin grabbed my hand and hauled me out the door and back down the stairs again.

"Mum!?" Kaetlin hollered in no obvious direction.

"Kitchen!" Came a call from the right. Kaetlin dragged me towards it.

We entered the room to see Shean talking on a tube thing and their mother sitting at a table with paper spread out around her. She sighed.

"Bills, dear. Sorry, not now."

"No, Mum, I didn't come down to ask anything. Look. Well, what do ya think?"

I felt like I was on display, but I smiled shyly. Their mother raised both eyebrows.

"Well, that's certainly an improvement... what did you say your name was again, dear?"

"Avalla, but please, call me Val, ma'am."

The older woman smiled. "Then you must call me Sylva." I nodded.

Just then, Shean put the tube-thingy onto a... thing (I didn't know what it was called) and turned to look at us. He whistled.

"Wow, Kaet, you sure can turn people around in a hurry."

I creased my brows, not sure if it was a compliment or not. Kaetlin smiled and blushed slightly.

"Thanks, Shean." Probably a compliment, then, if she said thanks.

"So, where do you live, dear?" Sylva asked.

"Kyrria."

"And where is that?"

"Um... it's near Bast."

Sylva's forehead wrinkled. "Bast? Where's that?"

"Well, it's beside... oh, never mind. I don't know. I'm starting to think I'm in the wrong world." As I said the words, it hit me. I probably wasn't!

Now it all made sense! The door, falling, Shean saying they lived in 'Washington'... wherever that was. I had left the world where Kyrria existed and entered another!

"Oh, you poor dear! You don't even know where your home is. Did you get taken here?"

"Um... yes. Yes, I did." Well, it was the truth... sort of. I had sort of taken myself here, but she never asked if I had been taken by someone _else_.

"You must miss your family terribly."

I nodded and started feeling my nose tingle, which always means I'm going to cry. I've always prided myself on being a rather good actress, and I could make myself cry on command. I started letting the tears run down my cheeks and didn't bother brushing them away because it heightened the effect.

"I miss my mother, and I miss my father, and I miss our cook, and all my friends!" Not that I had many. "And all of my pets and I'm lost and I don't know how to get home!" I sobbed, hoping that this would work. If it didn't, I had no _idea_ what I would do for the three years it was supposed to take till I could get home.

"Oh, poor lovey!" Sylva gathered me into her arms and I kept crying as Kaetlin and Shean stared. I was really getting into it now, but now a few tears were real.

"Um, Mum?" Kaetlin asked hesitantly. Sylva looked up as Kaetlin continued. "Um, what if Val stays with us?" I stopped crying and brushed my tears away as I quickly stood up.

Sylva bit her lower lip as she considered the idea. "But Kaety, that's quite different from picking up a stray cat or dog every once in a while." I got the impression that Shean and Kaet had done this more than a couple times. "We can't just find another home for a teenage girl!" I easily pulled my face into a hopeful expression and looked up at Sylva. I wouldn't mind living with the O'Connors at all if I could. The two kids and Sylva seemed very nice and I was willing to bet that Mr. O'Connor was nice, too.

Sylva still looked hesitant and I started letting my eyes fill again as I looked at her. She sighed. "Oh, its so hard to say no to three pitiful faces. I'll have to talk to your father." She directed this last bit at Shean and Kaetlin as she gathered up the papers and left the room.

I looked up at Shean and Kaetlin to see them grinning. I hadn't realized that Shean was getting in on the act too, but I was glad he had.

"Thanks, Shean!" Kaetlin gave him a little hug and a big grin. He shrugged.

"Heck, what are big brothers for? Besides, I always wanted another little sister to torture." He gave us what must have been supposed to be an 'evil' grin, but it looked too lopsided to look sinister. We both laughed.

"Oh, I think we can convince Dad that it won't be much different than the exchange students we have every year, but I doubt you'll be able to terrorize Val like you do me. She's not a wimp like me." They both grinned at each other and I guessed that this was a little joke between them and they were really rather nice to each other (for a brother and sister). Shean turned his 'evil' grin to me.

"Oh, she looks too little to be tough." I knew he didn't mean it, but I always got tired of people judging me for my size, even if they were just playing around. "Come on, show me what you're made of, little lady..."

He put up his fists in a mock fighting stance. I gave him a 'nasty' grin.

"Well, you asked for it." I kicked. Both legs. I didn't come even _close_ to hitting him, but he flinched as my foot went as high as his head. He's about seven inches (give or take a few) taller than me, but I could easily reach his head height and still be able to kick maybe an inch or two higher. I also did a front snap kick and a half-decent roundhouse kick to finish it off. I stood in front of him with my hand on my right hip and gazed at him with a cynical smile on my face, silently daring him to challenge me again.

He stared at me, eyes round and I half expected his chin to drop to the floor. Kaetlin grinned.

"See? I _told_ ya!" Shean nodded dumbly.

"Uh, yeah." He gulped. "I, uh, I gotta go!" Kaetlin and I blocked the empty doorway. I grinned at him.

"Oh, come on, I'm not going to bite or anything. I'm not a _bully_." I said the word with disgust. I hate bullies. "I just hate it when people think I'm a pushover just because I'm little. I'm fifteen and I can hold my own against you or anyone else who's seventeen." I shook my head at myself. "Oops, there I go again. Sorry. Once I get started, I go on a rampage." I gave a little self-disparaging laugh.

Shean gave me a look. "By the way, I'm not seventeen. I'm only fifteen. And Kaet's thirteen."

"Oh, sorry. Well, you _look_ seventeen."

He grinned. "Thanks. So, what are you guys doing tonight?" He asked, sliding into a chair with a sigh. Kaetlin shrugged.

"Oh, not much. I was going to see if the other girls wanted to go to a movie or something." Shean rolled his eyes.

"Do you guys _always_ go to a movie?"

Kaetlin shrugged. "What's the matter with that?"

"Well, you always see a 'romantic' movie or something." He made it sound like a bad thing. I cocked my head. He stared at me. "Romantic movie. You know?" I knew what romantic was, in a sense, but not a movie. I shook my head and he stood up. "I love you, darling. Will you marry me? I love you with my whole heart. Be mine?" He stared at me as he said this and puckered his lips for a kiss. I shook my head vigorously and Kaet laughed again.

"Shean, you're such a nut. You really should be an actor." He grinned and sat back down.

"Confirmed," he said, folding his hand behind his head and propping his feet up on the table with a content grin on his face. I breathed a _lot_ easier when I realized he had only been showing me something. I wasn't sure what it was or what a movie was, but it must be very strange.

He suddenly dropped the feet of his chair back onto the floor. "Hey, why don't you just get the girls over here and I'll get the guys and we can just watch a movie here?"

Kaetlin considered it for a moment, and then smiled. "Sure, that'll work. I'll call them now."

She walked over to the tube-thing that Shean had been talking into earlier. She pressed something on a little box and then held the tube up to her ear.

Shean grabbed my arm and I jumped. I had been watching Kaetlin as she talked into the funny tube.

"Come on," he whispered, "she'll be on there for _forever_." He rolled his eyes as we walked out of the kitchen. "Girls and their phones!"

A/N: Do you think you know what happens next? Tell me! Since I write this freehand (no outline), I don't know what's going to happen next either. So if you think that so-and-so's going to do this, or this-and-such is going to happen, post it in your review or email me. There's a good enough chance I might put it into the story or rewrite a chapter to include it! So let me know what you think and help write a story!


	4. Chapter Four: New Acquaintances

Disclaimer: The characters you recognize from Ella Enchanted are not mine, duh; they all belong to the wonderful lady, Gail Carson Levine who wrote Ella. Other than that, it's all mine, hehe.

Chapter Four: New Acquaintances 

Later that day, when Shean and Kaetlin's friends arrived, we all sat down in the 'living room'. I couldn't see why it was called that. I mean, you're alive in every single room of a house, right? So why call just one the 'living room'?

Anyways, we all crammed onto a big 'couch' and one of the girls went and popped a little black box into a bigger black box. Suddenly, the _big_ black box lit up and something appeared on it. It looked like little people were inside it! As it appeared, I jumped and accidentally jumped sideways towards Shean.

"Hey, chill, babe. Its just a picture," he whispered. He had put his arm around me when I jumped and now he quickly pulled it off as we both blushed. Suddenly, he groaned as the figures started speaking. I jumped again when they first spoke, but I didn't jump onto Shean this time.

"Oh, Starla, did you have to bring _this_ one?" He complained and then stood up. "Come on, guys," he said in a disgusted voice, "its one of those dumb romances again."

The other three boys stood up and followed Shean, but then the picture suddenly got bigger and the two little figures were suddenly just two faces kissing passionately. All of the other girls sighed happily, but I was so startled by the size change that I jumped straight out of my seat. The other boys were already out of the room, but Shean saw my face as I looked away from the kissing couple.

"Come on, Val. I doubt you'd like this movie anyways."

I followed Shean up to his room where the other three boys were waiting for him. One of them raised an eyebrow at me and another snickered.

"Finally got a girlfriend, huh, Sheanie?" He asked in a singsong, mocking voice. Shean managed to glare at him, though he was blushing furiously.

"Val is a friend of Kaet's who doesn't like romance movies." The other three boys looked at each other for a moment and burst out laughing. Shean and I exchanged glances.

"What's so funny?" Shean finally asked.

One of the boys pulled himself together enough to answer. "A... a girl – a friend of Kaety's at that – doesn't like _romance_ movies?!" They started laughing even harder. I glared at them.

"And what's wrong with that?" I asked in a cold tone, hands on my hips and glaring frostily at them.

"You're a delicate little girl and you don't like romance movies."

That was it. I had had enough of being called 'little' for one day. I knew I was as old as everyone else in the room and if I'd proved I was tough once already today, I could do it again!

Shean must have seen the glint of steel in my eyes because he gave the boy a warning look. "Now you've done it. _Never_ call Val 'little'."

The other boy stopped laughing and sat up on the bed, looking mockingly at me. "Oh yeah? Lets see what you've got, missy."

I grinned nastily. "All right. But remember, you asked for it. Get up and stand right there." I pointed to a place close enough that I could prove my point, but far enough away that I wouldn't accidentally kick him.

He rolled his eyes but followed my instructions. I waited a couple seconds till he looked bored and then suddenly did a one-two kick with one leg after another, followed by a front snap kick and then a roundhouse. I didn't come close to hitting him, but I proved my point well. He was a little shorter than Shean, so it was more impressive being able to kick _over_ his head than just _level_ with his head as I had with Shean.

All of the others stared at me. I knew I now had their attention and now it wouldn't be as hard to gain their respect, too. I looked over to see Shean hiding a grin. Then he seemed to realize the others were all still there and he looked over at them.

I had already been introduced to Kaetlin's friends, Starla and Amanda, but I didn't know Shean's friends because they'd been late. I gave him a little prompt. "Oh, I forgot. Um, guys, this is Val." There were three soft, 'Hi's from the boys. "Val, this is John." He gestured to the boy sitting on the left side of his bed. "And this is David, but you can call him Dave, too." He gestured to the other boy on the bed. "And this is Tourney." He pointed to the boy who had dared me who was still staring at me. I nodded to all three as Shean sat down backwards in a chair and spun it around.

"So, wadda we do, guys?" Tourney asked, shaking himself from his reverie or whatever he had been in.

Shean shrugged. "I dunno. Turn on the radio." Recognizing the word, I was prepared for the blast this time. They all grinned at the words that came from the radio.

Well I got myself a T-shirt that says what I believe

I got letters on my bracelet that serve as my ID

I got the necklace and the key chain

And almost everything a good Christian needs, yeah.

I got the little Bible magnets on my refrigerator door

And a welcome mat to bless you as you walk across my floor

I got a Jesus bumper sticker

And the outline of a fish stuck on my car

And even thought this stuff's all well and good, yeah

I cannot help but ask myself...

Shean joined in on the song with the radio on the second line. He had a pretty good voice! As I listened to him, I saw the other boys strumming or beating the air. I cocked my head at them, wondering what they were doing, but they didn't pay any attention to me. They were so engrossed in the music that they had their eyes closed as they continued their weird motions.

When the song finally ended, they finally saw me again. Shean looked apologetic, but the others were just grinning.

"What was that all about?" I asked.

"Well, see, we've got a band and the guys do the guitars and the drums and I do lead vocals. Say, we've been looking for lead female vocals. Can you sing?"

I nodded. There was a pause. "What, do you want me to do it _now_?"

Shean nodded silently. I took a deep breath and started singing. I couldn't think of a good song, so I sort of made it up as I went.

The warrior maid, the princess bold,

The shieldmaiden am I.

With sword in hand, I know I can

Do all things if I just try.

I'll fight beside the men

With victory in hand.

My first real battle was fought right on

The field of Kervalim.

I swung my sword called Ultamin

Against the evil men.

I parried, cleaved and downed the foe

And fought most valiantly.

But still I see clear in my mind

The men who died with me.

The men who fought

The men who died

Fighting for their country.

But then I saw a sight I had

Never wished to see.

I saw lying upon the field

My father near to me.

I ran to him fast as I could,

But still I was too late.

But before he left, this he said,

In his last words to me.

He told me to be strong

To right the wrong

That would surely come my way.

And though he died

I could not cry

No matter how I tried.

I had to do as he had said;

I stood without a thought.

I hacked and hewed

All through the foe

To the middle of the fray.

I stood there in the midst of swords

The heroes round me fighting.

I called into the skirmish then

To bring my men to me.

"The king has died but his spirit lives

Forever still in me.

Fight for him now

Just as we did

When he was still with thee."

Then rose a cheer from Kyrria

We battled then and won.

And evermore that battle was called

The Battle of the King.

I stopped. I had been getting into the action up until then, swinging Ultamin again, my eyes blazing, but now I couldn't go on, even though the song wasn't exactly how it had happened. I could feel my throat closing up and the smallest of tears stinging my eyes. The boys stared at me, their mouths hanging and their eyes wide.

"Did that really happen?" Shean finally asked in an awed voice. Tourney gave him a disgusted look, breaking out of the trance.

"'Course not, numbskull! She couldn't have. We haven't had a war in America for... oh, why bother with how long, but its been long enough! And besides, she can't be much older than Kaet, so there's no way she could even enroll in the army or anything. And we don't use swords and we haven't for ages." Tourney looked very satisfied with himself and his explanation. Shean didn't look too sure anymore, though.

"No, when we first met Val, she told us she was a princess. I didn't believe her then, but with every hour, I find more things that she's never seen that even if she lived in the UK, she should have seen _somewhere_, if only in a magazine." Shean turned to me. "Did it really happen, Val?"

"Sort of." I had a hard time thinking back on it. Shean looked sympathetic.

"You mean your father actually died?"

I shook my head. "No. All right, here's the story... I was thirteen and we learned that a neighboring kingdom was going to attack. It wasn't a large force and they were starting with small villages so they could pull in all the men from the villages they'd conquered. I don't know how, but I managed to convince my father that I could at least come along since I could help with bandaging the men up afterwards and caring for the wounds as I'd been taught by my fairy godmother." Dave interrupted me.

"You have a fairy godmother?"

"Well, I thought she was just our cook at the time, but on my fifteenth birthday, she told me she was actually my fairy godmother and that she had been my mother's fairy godmother and my mother's mother–" This time John cut me off.

"But if she told you on your fifteenth birthday, that would make you at least fifteen!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I am fifteen. Now, may I get on with the story?" If I had to keep thinking about it, I was going to cry, and I didn't want to cry in front of the four boys. They all nodded for me to go on. "Well, I was going to help with the wounds and all, but I also secretly brought along my sword and helmet and my friend brought along my armor that I used for practice. When we got there, my friend managed to give me my armor and I had it ready when the call to arms went up. See, I hadn't really cared as much about helping with the healing as I did about getting to fight. My best friend, Nayne had been bragging about going along for weeks and I just _had_ to show him up. When the battle started, we stuck close together, counting each of our kills. I've never really liked killing, but these men would have killed more innocent people than I could think and I knew I was doing my country good by killing them. The battle was nearing the end when I heard an awful scream. What made it worse was that it was familiar, too. I turned to see Nayne sliding to the ground with blood streaming from an awful sword thrust. I tried to use a small healing power my fairy godmother had taught me, but it was too late. I dragged his body back to the tents and..." I couldn't keep going anymore. I was reliving the memory in my mind and it was all too vivid for me. I could feel my nose starting to tingle and then my eyes started to fill. I knew I probably looked stupid, but the memory was as fresh as if it was yesterday.

I managed to get a hold of myself quicker than I had thought I would and looked back up at the boys. "He died and it took a long time for me to get over it. I saw many brave men died that day, some of whom I knew. That wasn't a very good song, I know, but I made it up right then." Shean looked surprised.

"Well, that wasn't bad for a spur-of-the-moment song. Wow, a good voice _and_ able to compose songs! You're in, babe!"

I wasn't crying anymore and I cocked my head at him. "Into what?"

"The band. You want to be the lead female vocals?"

"What do you mean?"

"You'll be the one to sing solos or duets with Shean, Val," Dave offered.

I shrugged and nodded. "Sure. What do I do?"

"Well, right now, we sing our own versions of songs by our favorite Christian singers and bands, but we're working on some of our own. So I'll teach you some songs later. We won't have a performance for quite a while." They all laughed at Shean's last comment.

We all sat in an uncomfortable silence for a while. "So, um, what do we do?" Shean asked for the second time that day. Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Sure!" Shean called. He obviously knew who it was. Kaetlin opened the door and came in, the other girls following her.

"Hey, done watching 'Attack of the Vamps' already?" John said 'Attack of the Vamps' in a weirdly accented voice and made claws with his hands. Kaetlin rolled her eyes.

"Oh, come on, Johnny, you know it wasn't a horror movie. I _know_ you're scared of kissing, but that doesn't mean it's a horror movie." Kaetlin puckered her lips and closed her eyes as if she was going to kiss him and John scuttled away in mock terror, holding his hands up in front of his face and crying, "No, not _that_!"

Shean caught John as he ran past him and motioned the other boys towards him. He whispered something and they all glanced over at us girls and grinned wickedly. We exchanged glances just before the boys broke formation and came at us with their arms outstretched, calling, "Come here, darling, I want to kiss you!" in fakely accented voices.

The other three girls shrieked and ran downstairs and I followed. I figured it was probably just a strange game they played. I decided I was right when the girls started laughing and dashed outside. They ran up a wooden ladder into a little tree house and I followed. The boys did too, but when they reached the step up, Kaetlin called out, "Oh, I don't think you want to come up here, boys. It's got 'girl cooties'!"

I saw Shean glance down at the other boys, but I couldn't see his face or what he said. Then suddenly he clambered up with a shout of "Get 'em, men!" They all dashed up and started tickling the other three girls. I just sat and watched. I think they were too scared of me kicking them to try to tickle me, and besides, they knew the other three girls and probably already knew that they were more fun than I'd probably be because they shrieked.

I sat and waited, trying not to laugh. Starla finally kicked and caught Tourney's arm. "Ooh, not another Val!" He groaned. I laughed and he grinned.

"All right, all right men, lets bring the prisoners back inside," Shean said in a militant voice. "Val, Dave, you go down and take the prisoners when they come down. Tourney, John and I will flank them." We all grinned and David and I scrambled down the ladder to wait for the other girls.

Soon they came down and we made sure they stayed put. I found that I was having fun playing along. No one was getting hurt and everyone else seemed to be having fun too. Shean and the other two boys quickly scrambled after Amanda, who had been the last girl to come down and we marched them inside.

Once we were inside, Kaet suggested playing a 'board game'. I wasn't sure what it was, but after they showed me how to play, I quickly got the hang of it. The game was called Monopoly and it took forever to finish, but Shean said not as long as if we played with all eight of us. Instead, we did four teams of two, one boy and one girl on each team.

Kaetlin and Dave won the game, but Shean and I came in second. When we were finally done, we all had a bite to eat and then the others went home.

We all collapsed onto the couch in the living room (I still don't understand why it's called that) as Sylva poked her head around the door of another room.

"Are they gone?" She asked in a cautious voice and her children laughed.

"Yeah, Mum, it's safe," laughed Shean. It appeared to be an ongoing joke between mother and children.

Sylva stepped out of the room. "Oh good." We all looked at her expectantly. She had been closeted in the room with Shean and Kaetlin's father ever since the other kids had arrived.

"What?" She asked, looking confused.

Kaetlin sighed. "Mum, you know what..." There was a pause and Kaetlin finally burst out, "Can Val stay?"

Sylva looked sad and I started to be afraid of the outcome. "Well, I discussed it with your father and..." She trailed off and stared into the distance.

A/N: Do you think you know what happens next? Tell me! Since I write this freehand (no outline), I don't know what's going to happen next either. So if you think that so-and-so's going to do this, or this-and-such is going to happen, post it in your review or email me. There's a good enough chance I might put it into the story or rewrite a chapter to include it! So let me know what you think and help write a story!


	5. Chapter Five: Home

Disclaimer: The characters you recognize from Ella Enchanted are not mine, duh; they all belong to the wonderful lady, Gail Carson Levine who wrote Ella. Other than that, it's all mine, hehe.

Chapter Five: Home 

"Mum?" Kaetlin finally asked. Sylva turned back to us and I could see a glint of suppressed fun in them. I started to wonder if she had just been doing an act.

"Huh? Oh, right. Well, we talked it over and... we decided she can stay."

We all cheered and Kaetlin gave me a hug. But Sylva held up a hand.

"Wait, wait. There are conditions, of course. If Val stays with us, even if for only a couple weeks-" She seemed to think that it wouldn't be for more than a month. I hoped she wouldn't mind about thirty-five extra months. "-she'll have to be a contributing member of this family." I nodded. "That will include chores and anything else that needs doing that everyone else helps with." I nodded again. "Well, you're in! You'll have to share a room with Kaetlin; I hope you don't mind." We both shook our heads emphatically. I didn't mind at all and it would appear that Kaetlin didn't either. "You'll have to sleep in the trundle bed until we get a real one for you and can fix up the guest room for you." I nodded and Kaetlin grinned at me.

"It'll be just like having an exchange student again, except that you get to help with chores and stuff too," she giggled. "Or maybe it'll be more like having a foster kid again, come to think of it." Sylva smiled.

"That's the only reason we let you guys do this. You seem to fit in well with the family and as long as you're willing to help out, you should be fine."

Kaetlin jumped up and pulled me after her.

"Come on, Val! Lets go to my – _our_ room." She grinned at her correction.

I followed her up to her room and we sat on the bed as she regaled me with all of the things we would be able to do now that I was living with them for a while.

"I haven't had another girl my age in the house for _so_ long! Shean's fine, but it's so nice having another girl to talk to." I nodded. "It's a good thing that we've had foster kids before. I don't think Mum would have let you stay otherwise. But they've never seemed to stay for long." She sighed. "How long do you think you'll be staying?"

"Three years," I replied with certainty. I figured it was probably better to let them know now than to find out later that I couldn't stay for that long. Kaetlin clapped her hands excitedly.

"Ooh, goodie! I think that was about how long the longest foster stayed. But I was too young to remember." She grinned. "Oh, this'll be so fun!" I smiled.

"I hope so. My only sibling is a sister who is twelve years younger than me."

"Awww!" Kaetlin cooed. "Just a little baby!"

"No, she's three."

"But that's still a baby. Can she talk yet?"

"She can string together words easily enough, but she doesn't make real sentences yet."

"Ooh, I've always wanted a little sister!"

I laughed. "I'm not exactly younger than you."

Kaetlin rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Oh, I know that. But with all the foster kids we've had, none of them have been that much younger than me. Oh well, you'll be even better!"

"Thanks!" I replied sarcastically, grinning at her.

"So, what's it like being a princess?" Kaetlin flopped onto the bed and propped her head in both hands as she looked up at me. "I've always wanted to be one."

I sighed. "I hate it." She looked surprised but didn't interrupt. "I have no _freedom_, I was on my way to meet a possible future husband I don't like before I got taken here, and I have to marry whoever my parents choose!"

Kaetlin gave a dreamy sigh. "I'd be happy to get married."

"Oh no you _wouldn't_!" I said emphatically, and then reconsidered. "Well, maybe _you_ would. You'd probably make a better princess than I would."

She laughed. "Oh, come on. You're joking about all that stuff."

I shook my head vigorously. "Uh-uh! You're more like the other princesses I know than me... except that you're not boring or an airhead and you wear pants."

Kaetlin giggled. "Is being a princess _that_ bad?"

I nodded. "At least for me it is. I've wanted to be an ordinary peasant girl for most of my older life."

Kaetlin grinned. "Too bad we couldn't switch positions."

I shook my head. "I'd give anything to be able to do that."

A/N: Do you think you know what happens next? Tell me! Since I write this freehand (no outline), I don't know what's going to happen next either. So if you think that so-and-so's going to do this, or this-and-such is going to happen, post it in your review or email me. There's a good enough chance I might put it into the story or rewrite a chapter to include it!

A/N: Thank you to:

Emtec, Gothic Valley Girl, Gayle, Meghan. Nikki enchanted, Mandy, EllaFreak, & b2okworm1 for reviewing!


	6. Chapter Six: A New Life

Disclaimer: The characters you recognize from Ella Enchanted are not mine, duh; they all belong to the wonderful lady, Gail Carson Levine who wrote Ella. Other than that, it's all mine, hehe.

A/N: Okay, I live in Washington, but I'm homeschooled and have been all my life, so I don't know the names of any of the junior highs, because I've only done dance recitals at the high schools. So I'm going to call my school Kentland Junior High. Lame, I know, but I can't use Kentlake or Kentwood because there ARE such high schools in Washington. I also know _nothing_ at _all_ about what its actually like at school, so if you have any suggestions for changes, _let me know_! Thanks.

**A/N: Okay, I _really_ need Beta Readers for _ALL_ of my stories. I'm good with grammar and spelling and stuff, but I need people to tell me what they really like or don't like and what they think I should change before I post my chapters on If you'd like to Beta Read any of my stories, email me or post it in your review (yes, that means you're supposed to review, lol!). Thanks to everyone who already has given me such great feedback!**

**Chapter Six: A New Life**

The next day, Kaetlin woke me early.

"Come on, we've gotta go to school!" She hissed, trying to wake me up. I was so tired I could just barely understand her.

"I didn't do it, Mother! I would never pull off the Duke's wig!" I muttered before I realized it wasn't my mother. I jerked up and smashed foreheads with Kaetlin. She sat back and we both nursed our aching heads.

"What do you mean?" I finally asked. Luckily, I was used to getting up early, so I'm usually not grumpy in the mornings.

"We've got to go to school. Come on, Shean'll be down eating breakfast already and you've got to go into his grade, so you have to be ready in time!" She jumped up and pulled some clothes out of her closet. She tossed them to me and I caught them and hurriedly dressed, then pulled my hair back into a high ponytail.

I rushed downstairs to find Shean eating a bowl of what looked remarkably like oats. I wasn't sure what school was, but I understood that we had to hurry.

"Mornin', Shean!" I said as I pulled up a stool to the bar and sat down. He grinned at me.

"Well, well, aren't you in a hurry. Want some breakfast?"

I nodded. He went and got a bowl and poured something out, poured what looked like milk into the bowl and set it in front of me with a spoon. I stared at it. There were little pieces of some puffy thing and little coloredâ things floating around in with the puffy things. There sure were a lot of 'things' that I was discovering in this new place.

"What, aren't you going to eat it?" Shean asked, looking at me curiously.

I looked up at him with a perplexed expression. "I'm supposed to eat this?"

"Well, _yeah_! There's nothing wrong with it. Its just cereal," he laughed. "Come on, you better hurry or we'll be late for school! We've got to scooter, so we have to leave early."

I took a tentative spoonful, accidentally getting some of the colored pieces too. I crunched down on it and found that it actually tasted really good! I shoveled in another bite and then another and another. Shean grinned.

"Lucky Charms sure taste good, huh?"

I nodded enthusiastically, unable to speak around a big mouthful.

When I finished, Kaetlin and Shean and I rushed out to the 'garage'. When Kaet turned on the light, I saw two big things sitting there. I started and began backing out when Shean grabbed my arm.

"Wait here and I'll get the scooters and Kaetlin can get the helmets."

I nodded and gulped. This world had some of the strangest things I'd ever encountered, and I thought I'd seen them all!

Shean and Kaetlin quickly came back. Kaetlin had three blue and black round things and Shean had three long silver shiny pieces of metal.

Kaetlin reached me first and placed a round thing on my head, buckling a strap.

"There, perfect fit!" She declared, placing another one on her own head and snapping it securely shut.

"What are these?" I asked, reaching up to feel it. It felt hard, a little tiny bit like wood, but it was hollow like some of the suits of armor I've seen.

Shean laughed, handing me one of the metal strips. "They're helmets. They'll keep your head safe in case you fall off the scooters on the way to school." He unfolded his piece of metal and I saw that it had wheels of some sort of clear, hard material and a long stick of metal coming out of one end where it had folded together and that stick had a cross hilt at the opposite end. Shean called it the 'handlebar'.

We took them outside and Shean showed me how to unfold the thing, which he called a 'scooter'. Then he quickly taught me to scooter. Luckily, I have rather good balance and reflexes, and scootering is rather easy (for me, anyways). Soon, I pushed away with my foot and called out as I whizzed past the other two.

"Which way?"

Shean came after me and quickly caught up. "Right," he replied and I easily kept up with he and Kaetlin until we got to school.

Shean took something out of his pocket and hooked it under the handlebars and locked it onto a big metal thing.

"What's that for?" I asked as Shean folded my scooter up and locked it up as well.

"To make sure no one steals them," he replied, motioning for my helmet. I unclipped it and handed it to him.

"Come on, we better go get to class." Shean shouldered his backpack and grabbed my hand, pulling me after him into the big building.

I followed Shean – well, was _pulled_ along behind Shean is more accurate – all the way to a room. He pulled me inside and had me sit down at a desk while he went to the front to give the teacher a piece of paper. The teacher nodded and Shean came back to sit at the desk to the left of mine. There were still about ten minutes until school started, Shean told me, and that was why only a little more than half the seats were occupied.

Soon enough, though, the seats filled. The teacher rapped on his desk for attention.

"All right now, class, settle down." The talking stopped with just a few papers rustling to break the silence. "All right now. We have a new student here today. I hope that you will make her welcome and be kind and courteous to her. No making fun of her or Shean will clobber you." Everyone laughed at the little joke. "Will you please come up here and introduce yourself?" He asked.

I stood up and walked to the front. I turned to face the class.

"Please tell us your name and where you come from."

I took a deep breath. "I am Princess Avalla Shirra Fealla Charlla of Kyrria." There was silence for a moment and then a few twitters. Soon there were more twitters and giggles that quickly turned into outright laughter. I felt my face burning and I realized how dumb that was. They didn't even _have_ princesses or kingdoms here! I unwillingly caught a few unspoken thoughts.

_Hah! Princess indeed! Stupid little twit probably thinks she's better than everyone else in the _world

_Oh brother, what a dork. Does she _really_ expect us to believe that?_

The only thing that made it all right as I ran back to my seat, face as red as my mother's crimson dress, was the fact that Shean and a couple of other kids weren't laughing at me. I slipped into my seat and buried my head in my arms, letting them drop to the desk. I didn't want anyone to see the few little tears that fell from my eyes.

Shean put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Hey, its okay, Val. That wasn't a _total_ disaster," he whispered. I turned my face sideways just enough to see him clearly.

"Yeah? How do you figure _that_?" I hissed.

Shean looked down at his desk and I immediately regretted my words.

"Sorry," I whispered. He looked up and nodded.

"All right now." The teacher cleared his throat and rapped for silence. The twitters and whispers stopped. He called out names and he marked them off on a sheet as kids raised their hands in response to the names.

The class seemed to go on forever before Shean whisked me out of the room, running down the hall hauling his bag of books behind him. We went into another room and sat down in another pair of seats. This time there were only a few kids that had been in the first room. Once again, the teacher announced there was a new student and called me up. This time, I vowed, I wouldn't be so stupid.

"I am Avalla O'Connor of Kyrria." I had already asked Shean if I was his 'cousin'. He'd said I was.

"Oh, is Kyrria in Ireland?" The teacher asked, sounding curious. I stumbled for just a moment before replying.

"Uhâ yes! I'm Shean O'Connor's cousin. I'll be staying with them for a while."

The teacher smiled. "Oh, how nice! I hope everyone will give Avalla a nice welcome later." She looked around the class as if making sure they would. I went to sit back down in the seat. Shean gave me a grin and made a fist with his thumb sticking out and pointing up. I wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, but I grinned and copied his hand posture.

"Now, today we will be studying American history. We'll be reviewing the founding of our great country. I'm sure you all remember it"

Everyone nodded and a few groaned.

"Good. Then can anyone tell me how many votes George Washington received to elect him President?"

She called on one of the boys whose hand had shot up and he answered correctly.

"Correct, Sam. Who was the first secretary of the Department of State?"

There was a pause and I almost groaned as I heard someone's thought.

_I think it was Alexander Hamilton. It was, wasn't it? Hm_

I decided to take a risk and raised my hand. The teacher looked a little surprised.

"Yes, Avalla."

"Um, Val. The first secretary of the Department of State was Alexander Hamilton?" I hadn't meant to phrase it as a question, but I wasn't sure it was right.

The teacher looked even more surprised. "Wellâ yes! Good job, Val." She smiled at me and I smiled shyly back. I hadn't really wanted to steal the answer, but if I had risked it and been right. I promised myself I would only do that for a few questions throughout the day so it might seem like Shean had given me a brush-up on school. Then he would look a bit better too, in the teacher's eyes. I sighed inwardly. I didn't like thoughts anymore.

This would be a long day.

The rest of the day went rather like that: running to the next room, the teacher having me say my name, sitting back down, accidentally answering a few questions, finishing the class, then repeating it. Some of the teachers seemed interested in if I came from Ireland too, or some other little tidbit that I let them assume was true.

At one point, Shean led me into a rather large room that was packed with tables and chattering kids eating food. He led me into a long line and handed me a tray. He advised which food I should take. At the end of the line, we stood in front of some sort of machine and Shean gave the lady standing behind the thing some green pieces of parchment and some coins and then led me to one of the empty tables.

We sat down and started to eat in silence. Soon another girl who I recognized from being in a couple of the classes earlier came by.

"Hi, I'm Jenny. You're Val, right?" I nodded. "Kaetlin told me about you. I thought that was really mean of the kids to laugh at you when you had to introduce yourself in English. They _must_ remember how hard it is to be the new kid." I must have looked confused, because she gave me a friendly smile. "It's okay. I'm gonna be coming over to your house with Kaetlin today after school, so I guess I'll see you then." I nodded again. "Well, see you then." She walked over to another table with her tray. I saw her sit down next to Kaetlin and her other friends.

I glanced at Shean. "That wasâ interesting," I remarked, not sure what to say.

Shean grinned. "Oh, it's okay. Jenny's just a little odd." He chuckled. "Well, girls are anyways." He must have realized what he'd just said because he turned red and looked chagrined. "I – I didn't mean youâ I mean, I meantâ I" I cut him off with a laugh.

"Hey, it's okay," I said, copying his first sentence. "I know what you mean."

Just then, Tourney came over. "Oh, hey, _Princess_," he said sarcastically. He obviously didn't believe me, but that was fine. I didn't want to be teased about it anymore than I already was. I smiled sweetly.

"It's Val. I didn't think you were _that_ slow." His face turned pink at my implication that his wheels needed greasing.

"Hey, I've got a brain, even if you don't."

"Hey, Tourney, do you know why your head is the heaviest part of your body?" Shean asked matter-of-factly, but I could tell this was going to turn into a joke.

"Of course, it's because there's brain up there." He looked very proud of the fact.

I pretended to be surprised. "Really? And here I thought it was hollow!" Out of the corner of my eye I could see Shean smothering a grin and I had to do the same when I saw Tourney's expression. With a huff, he stood and picked up his tray.

"Well, if your _girlfriend_ can't be more _courteous_, Shean, _I'll_ go sit somewhere _else_!" He emphasized a few too many words to make it seem as emphatic as he wanted. Shean got up and grabbed his arm, trying not to laugh.

"Hey, we were just playing and you know it," he said, laughing just a little. Then he got a bit more serious. "And she's not my girlfriend."

Tourney smirked. "Yeah? Well then, what _is_ she?"

"My cousin from Ireland."

Tourney snorted. "Yeah, right. So _that's_ why she's a princess!" I rolled my eyes.

"Let's just eat, okay?" Shean asked. Tourney rolled his eyes.

"Fine."

We ate the rest of our meal in silence.

After lunch, Shean dragged me off to a few more classes and then we went outside and unlocked the 'scooters' from the rack, put on our helmets and rode home with Kaetlin and Jenny.

We sat around and talked for a while, then decided we were bored. After trying to think of something to do (they all had to explain to me what quite a lot of their suggestions were), Kaetlin had an idea that the others liked and that I was willing to try.

"Lets ask Mum if she'll drive us over to the skate rink for the evening session and we can teach Val how to skate so she'll be ready for Saturday's lesson." I didn't know anything about a lesson on Saturday, but I was ready to try. Sylva agreed to drive us to the 'rink'. I expected her to go and get the carriage ready, but instead, we went back into the 'garage'.

Shean and Kaetlin led me up to one of the big metal rectangles and pulled a piece off the side. I jumped, then realized the piece was still attached and the inside was hollow. Kaetlin motioned me inside, then climbed in after me. Jenny went around to the other side and pulled off another piece and climbed in. Both girls pulled the pieces back on with a slam. I decided they must be doors, like on a carriage. I just hadn't expected them to stay on like on a carriage. Shean pulled open another door in front of us and climbed into another seat, with Sylva on the other side.

"Where are the horses?" I asked.

"Oh, it's got some good horsepower," Shean replied, patting the door.

"But where are they?"

Shean looked confused, then recognition dawned on him. "No, that's kind of a measurement, I guess, not actual horses. Oh, you might want to-"

I jumped and yelped a little as he was cut off by a soft roar, then a cranking of what sounded like gears in a mill.

"That."

"What is it?" I asked with trepidation.

Shean laughed. "Just the car starting. You've got to get used to it or you won't survive in this place." He gave me a wink, but I still wasn't reassured completely. I had to spend three years in this new world and I wasn't sure I could cope with all of these strange new things that kept turning up.

A/N: Do you think you know what happens next? Tell me! Since I write this freehand (no outline), I don't know what's going to happen next either. So if you think that so-and-so's going to do this, or this-and-such is going to happen, post it in your review or email me. There's a good enough chance I might put it into the story or rewrite a chapter to include it!


	7. Chapter Seven: Adjustments

Disclaimer: The characters you recognize from Ella Enchanted are not mine, otherwise you wouldn't recognize them from any book because they wouldn't be published, lol. Picture Perfect belongs to Michael W Smith, although I made up the actions that go with it.

A/N: On the songs, when there are italic words in brackets, that's the action that is happening while they are singing. If the words in the brackets are regular text, the action is happening in between the song lines.

Do you think I put in too many songs? Or if not, do you think I should quit putting in all the actions they do? If you do, put it in your review and I'll stop! I just have so much fun doing them, but I don't want to get you awesome readers annoyed, heehee! Thanks.

**Chapter Seven: Adjustments**

We pulled up in front of a large building and there was another grinding of gears as the 'car' (Shean had explained all about it to me on the way) pulled up in front of the rink. Shean got out and opened the door for us (it was rather sticky) and we all piled out.

"I'll be back for you at eight," Sylva called as we walked in.

We walked up to a little window and a woman asked us how many people we had. Shean said four and she told him a number. He handed her some green paper and coins and she gave him four red pieces of paper.

Shean led us up to a counter and we waited for the man to come over to us.

"Ya need th' skates?" He asked. Shean nodded and told him four numbers. The man came back with what looked like boots with four little wheels on the bottom attached by a metal plate.

"Shoes," he said in a bored voice and the others started taking off their shoes. I followed suit and we all placed our shoes on the counter.

"Why do we have to do that?" I asked in a whisper, not directing it at anyone in particular.

"I guess it's so that they know we'll give back the skates because we want our shoes back. Not that the skates are good enough to steal anyways." She stuck her tongue out in disgust.

Shean laughed at her and told me not to lace the top hole. I laced up my boots, leaving the top hole open. I tied the laces as tight as I could, to make them feel snug. I stood up and spun around. I didn't make a full circle, just a little swing with the wheels. Surprised but happy with that, I turned to the others.

"Come on, let's go. I want to learn to skate."

This would be fun. The other three got up and helped me out onto the wooden floor. It was much slicker on the floor than on the hard carpet and I actually found it easier to move on it. After showing me how to do what she called 'V steps', Kaetlin taught me how to do 'glide steps'. They were longer, slower, and more graceful, holding your foot behind you before putting it down to push. I was soon following the others around the floor easily. I think it was easier because of my balance. For some reason, I've always had good balance and this had seemed to help twice today: both on skates and on scooters. I couldn't wait for this skating lesson on Saturday.

Saturday morning finally came (only four days of suffering through school). We got to sleep in just a little before getting into the car at eight fifteen. Kaetlin described what the teacher, John would probably have us doing. We had gone to the skate rink a couple more times during the week and I knew I could skate as well as most of the other kids by now.

We all piled out and Shean paid for the lessons. We had gone to a 'thrift store' called 'Value Village' a couple times that week and finally found enough skates to fit all three of us. We put on our socks and laced up our skates. I had only used them once before and I couldn't wait to see how I did this time. I skated out onto the floor for the first class (the beginners) and started skating. I saw a man I assumed was the coach fiddling with what Kaetlin had told me was the 'DJ stand' where they played the music in. There were already other kids on the floor, some obviously better than I was, some still working on V steps. The coach stepped onto the floor and held up a microphone.

"All right, everyone up front."

I skated back around the floor to the front wall, pulled off a nice stop with the side of my skate, and stood in front of the wall. The coach stood in front of us with his feet firmly planted and his microphone in his hand. He looked at one of the younger boys.

"Adam, are those hands in your pockets?"

The boy looked sheepish and quickly pulled them out, grinning up at the coach. He grinned back, then turned to the rest of us.

"Now any of you who are new today know one of our rules: no hands in pockets. Do you know why?"

I'd learned from experience. I raised my hand. "Yes?"

"Because then if you fall, your hands can't break your fall."

The coach nodded. "That's right. Now, for all you new people, I'm John, but you can call me Joe, too. Everyone who's been here before knows the magic word: 'step'." Kaetlin and Shean had taught me that one. "If you're new, I'll come around and see if you're good enough to stay for Class Two. Those of you who are still learning V steps will work with Sammy." A middle-aged lady waved to us. "Now, _skate_!" He called.

We all pushed away from the wall and glided away. I fell into the posture Kaetlin had showed me and held my arms out straight and leaned from side to side as I did my lean changes. The coach skated up to me.

"Are you new?" I nodded. He paused to size me up. "Stay for at least Class Two. Maybe Class Three, too." I nodded and he skated away. We skated forwards for one record, then skated forwards the opposite direction. After that, we went to the side wall and skated backwards from it to the opposite wall a couple times. Then he sent us over to the other wall to do what Joe called 'spread eagles'. We had to stand on the wall and place our skates up tight against the wall, heels together, toes, and heels touching the wall. Then we had to wiggle our hips to loosen up our ankles for the next exercise. Joe came around and kicked our skates so that the whole inside edge was touching the wall. When he came to me, he stopped.

"Can you step away from the wall? What's your name again?"

"Val," I replied as I stepped away.

"Okay then, Val, I want you to put your left foot on the wall and put your right foot behind it, toe to heel on both sides." I did so and he kicked my skate in. "Now twist!" He instructed us all as he went down and kicked in the rest of the skates. He finally let us off the wall and had us line up on the outer black line that went around the floor. We placed our left foot sideways, pointing towards the back wall and lined up our right foot so that they made a T. Then we pushed and pulled our feet together so that they made a line... or tried to. Most of the kids fell down, but Kaet, Shean, and I and some of the other advanced kids managed to make it farther than most.

When Class Two was finally over, Joe told me to stay for Class Three. This was the one I had been waiting for. We all lined up on the wall and Joe stood in front of us.

"Okay, kids, we've got a new student. This is Val. Now, since she's new, we're going to start with the glide waltz." Everyone groaned. "Okay, line up behind me."

We all got into a straight line behind him (not a single file line, more like a row). Kaetlin had already showed me a bit of the glide waltz, which is probably just about the easiest dance in quad skating. It's also probably the most boring dance in skating, too. Joe promised we'd do the double cross waltz next week.

It was a bit over a month later when I finally had most of the band's songs memorized and Shean started teaching me the choreographies. The other boys weren't there, but since we were both the lead vocals, we just sang. One of the funnest ones to do was Picture Perfect by Michael W Smith.

Shean stood 'onstage' and I had a slip-on dress on over my clothes. As he started singing, I ran onstage.

Pull all your hair up/ _I ran on, pretending to pull my hair into the high ponytail it was already in _

Dab on the make-up/ _I pantomimed dabbing blush onto my cheeks like I'd seen Kaetlin doing_

Trying hard to look so pristine/ _I posed_

Like a face in a magazine/ _I turned my head and smiled at where the audience would be_

Those fancy dresses and/ _I swept my hands down from my shoulders to show off my dress_

Media pressure/ _ I looked around uncertainly_

Have got you feeling so plain and small/ _ I hugged my shoulder and tried to look small_

If you don't look like a paper doll/ _ I held my hands out by my sides like a triangle to look like a paper doll_

In a world where the goal is/ _ I turned my head as if searching for something_

To be like the Joneses/ _ I jerked forwards and posed prettily _

It's guaranteed to drive you wild/ _ I stomped my foot in frustration_

Keeping up with the latest style/ _ I spun around on my heel and tried to look upset_

Gaze in the mirror/ _ I held my hand in front of my face like a mirror_

You want the glamour/ _ I pretended to drop the mirror and let it smash_

And the grace of a movie star/ _ I held my hand up horizontal to the side of my face like I was holding something on the palm_

But I like you the way you are/ _ I looked at him like I was surprised_

You are the only one I'm dreaming of/ _ I pointed to myself in astonishment_

'Cause baby don't you know that I love/

I joined in on all the choruses 

Chorus:

You, Girl/ _I grinned happily at the audience and then pulled off my dress and ripped out my ponytail holder_

You don't have to be picture perfect/ _On the words 'picture perfect', I snapped my hand into what Shean called 'angel hands' and tried to look angelic & innocent_

To be in my world/ _ I smiled and shrugged nonchalantly_

You don't have to be picture perfect/ _On the words 'picture perfect', I snapped my hand into what Shean called 'angel hands' and tried to look angelic & innocent_

To fit the frame/ _ I put my hands into a half rectangle and framed my face with my hands_

You're tender, you're tactful/ _ I smiled sweetly at him_

Girl, you're a natural/ _ I grinned at the audience_

You possess a heart that's true/ _ I put both hands over my heart_

That's what I like about you/

One in a million/ _ I put up one finger and circled it at the audience_

Yea, that's a given/ _ I grinned broadly and laughed silently at the audience_

There's a beauty inside of you/ _ I put my hands by my shoulders in a self-conscious gesture_

And it shows on the outside, too/ _ I swept my hands up in a broad gesture_

No competition, you're way in the lead/ _ I grinned as widely as I could and stepped back a bit to give myself some room for the next move_

And baby, don't you know that I need.../

Chorus:

You, Girl/ _ I grinned and turned a cartwheel & stuck the landing nicely_

You don't have to be picture perfect/ _On the words 'picture perfect', I snapped my hand into what Shean called 'angel hands' and tried to look angelic & innocent_

To be in my world/ _ I smiled and shrugged _

Girl/

You don't have to be picture perfect/ _On the words 'picture perfect', I snapped my hand into what Shean called 'angel hands' and tried to look angelic & innocent_

To be in my world/ _ I smiled and shrugged_

Girl/

You don't have to be picture perfect/ _On the words 'picture perfect', I snapped my hand into what Shean called 'angel hands' and tried to look angelic & innocent_

To fit the frame/ _ I put my hands into a half rectangle and framed my face with my hands_

The bridge music came on and I just swung along with the music and Shean joined in, both of us just having fun 

You are the only one I'm dreaming of/

'Cause baby, don't you know that I love.../

Chorus:

You, Girl/ _ I grinned and turned a cartwheel & stuck the landing nicely_

You don't have to be picture perfect/ _On the words 'picture perfect', I snapped my hand into what Shean called 'angel hands' and tried to look angelic & innocent_

To be in my world/ _ I smiled and shrugged _

Girl/

You don't have to be picture perfect/ _On the words 'picture perfect', I snapped my hand into what Shean called 'angel hands' and tried to look angelic & innocent_

To be in my world/ _ I smiled and shrugged_

Girl/

You don't have to be picture perfect/ _On the words 'picture perfect', I snapped my hand into what Shean called 'angel hands' and tried to look angelic & innocent_

To be in my world/ _ I smiled and shrugged_

Girl/

You don't have to be picture perfect/ _I danced over to Shean _

To fit the frame/ _ Shean and I turned our backs to each other and leaned our shoulders together as I crossed my arms and he strummed his last chord on his guitar_

I leaned against the wall, panting from lack of breath and we both grinned at each other.

"Not bad, huh?" Shean asked, putting his guitar on the bed. I shook my head, unable to speak. We heard a little giggle and turned just in time to see Kaetlin dashing away from the door for her room. Shean growled and ran after her.

I got up off the wall I had been leaning on and crept across the hall to listen.

"What were you doing?" I heard Shean ask in an irritated voice.

"Just watching," Kaetlin replied casually. I could tell from her voice that she was grinning. Shean growled.

"Well then, what was so funny?"

"Just Val. She looked so funny dancing!"

"I did, did I?" I asked, stepping through the door. I found Shean holding Kaetlin by the shoulders. They both jumped.

"Oh, I, uh, I was joking, Val!"

I smiled ever so slightly and rolled my eyes. "Of course you were, Kaet. Look, I've only been in your world for a bit over what, a month and a half? I only know _maybe _half your customs, and I can barely even do ballroom dancing. Maybe _that's_ why I can't dance," I added in a suggestive voice, hoping she'd get the hint.

She dropped her head and looked so stupidly repentant that Shean and I had to stare at each other so we wouldn't see her and burst out laughing.

Kaetlin looked back up and I unexpectedly caught a stray thought.

_They _so_ have a crush on each other! Boy, it's _so_ obvious!_

I had no idea what she was talking about and I resolved to ask her that night.

"What's up with you two?"

I jerked myself back to the present and looked at her.

"We're just... trying not to laugh at you," Shean replied, stumbling over his words as he choked on his laughter.

Kaetlin rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Can I go now?"

Shean shoved her away. "Whatever. Just quit spying on band practices! I _know_ you find them hilarious, but you've _got_ to quit or I'll tell!"

"Fine, _whatever_!" Kaetlin yelled and stalked out of the room. This was the first time I'd seen them fighting in the week I'd been here. They seemed to get along fine most of the time, but people can, after all get on nerves sometimes.

Shean shook his head. "I don't know _what_ her problem is! Ugh, little sisters! Come on, let's go ride our scooters somewhere. I know, we can take Éire to the park."

"Okay!" I agreed happily. I loved his fuzzy golden retriever. I wanted to get a dog of my own sometime. She reminded me of one of the breeds of dogs we had in Kyrria.

We ran down to the garage and got our scooters after checking with Sylva, then went to the backyard to get Éire. We clipped on her leash and scootered to the local park.

We played Frisbee and fetch with her for a while, then let her run with the other dogs. A dog that didn't look like any dog I had never seen before came trotting up to me with a ball in her mouth, begging me to throw it for her. She was black and white and beautiful. She had a perfectly shaped head and her whole body was well proportioned. She looked like she was a rather fast, agile dog. I fell in love with her right away.

The dog's owner came running up.

"Sorry about that!" She exclaimed, gently grabbing the dog's collar. "Bad Jaime!" She scolded.

"Oh, it's fine. What kind of dog is she?"

"Huh? Oh, she's a border collie," the girl said as she walked away with Jaime.

A border collie... I'd have to find out more about them. I wasn't going to be able to forget them easily. Maybe I could bring one or two back with me to Kyrria and start breeding them. They were such a beautiful bree–

"Val. Val? _Val_!" Shean yelled in my ear when I didn't respond at first. I jumped and we smacked foreheads.

"Ow; thanks," I muttered, rubbing my aching brow.

"Sure thing," Shean replied, doing likewise.

"What'd you want?" I asked, looking up at him. He had Éire on her leash in one hand and our scooters in the other.

"Come on, it's time to go home. Here's your scooter." He handed it to me and I unfolded it. We stepped on and pushed off with Éire running happily alongside us.

Kaetlin was still avoiding us when we got home and I promised myself once again that I would make her answer my questions that night.

A/N: Do you think you know what happens next? Tell me! Since I write this freehand (no outline), I don't know what's going to happen next either. So if you think that so-and-so's going to do this, or this-and-such is going to happen, post it in your review or email me. There's a good enough chance I might put it into the story or rewrite a chapter to include it!


	8. Chapter Eight: Surprises

Disclaimer: I'm sure you all know by now that I'm not Mrs. Levine, so I obviously don't own Ella Enchanted. Thank you.

'Gone' belongs to Switchfoot. Lord of the Rings (the greatest book ever) belongs to JRR Tolkien and will forever and ever!

**A/N:** Okay, first of all, I'm sorry it's been taking so long to update. I've got more chapters finished, but I write my stories for myself and if no one seems to care if they're updated (i.e. no one reviews), I'll just wait for a while until I feel like updating, because it's kind of a pain bringing the stories up from my laptop in my room to our computer that has Internet.

I need feedback on what how you think all the characters are developing, too. I'm going to try to make all the next few chapters relevant to the story once Val goes back, so I'll try not to have too many more in our world. But in a couple of updates, I will **_NEED_** feedback on Chapter Ten or else I won't update. I'm not sure how I'm going to have everything develop, so without feedback, I might not write any more for a while. So have all your friends review! There will be a lot more in Val's world, but I won't you what happens. (partly because I don't know myself and partly because if I tell you, you won't review, and I need reviews so I know how people think the characters are developing)

Thanks to all my reviewers! I take everything you say into consideration, and I wanted to say thanks to Gayle for her comment that I should bring Val back soon, which I will do.

A/N2: And now, due to popular request, a view into Ella and Char's world. Dun, dun, DUN!

I got tired of the 'actions' in my songs (I'm sure you are too) and since the brackets don't work on and they were just plain complicated, I just took them out. So on the song, the text in **bold** is Val's lines, and the _italic_ text is Shean's lines, and the regular text is when they sing together. If for some reason that I could never guess in a million years, anyone wants the actions back like I had in the other songs, go ahead and say so, but I won't expect anyone to say so, hehe.

Chapter Eight: Surprises 

That night Kaetlin and I were sitting on her bed chatting. I suddenly remembered my promise to myself and decided to ask her now.

"Kaetlin?"

"Hmm?"

"What's a crush?"

She sat up from where she had been lying with a jerk. "Huh?"

"What's a crush?" I asked again.

"You mean like a personal crush?" I nodded uncertainly. "Uh... uh... I guess it's like when you're in love, but you don't know if the other person feels the way."

I narrowed my eyes. "You think Shean and I have a crush on each other." Technically, that should have been a question, but I spoke it as a statement.

Kaetlin choked and spluttered. "Well... I... um..."

I rolled my eyes and all but glared at her. "Oh, come _on_, I _know_ you do!" She hung her head. "Well, before you go spreading any rumors or anything, you'd better know you're _way_ off track." She looked up at me, almost looking surprised. I rolled my eyes again. "Oh boy, you actually thought we _did_, didn't you? Well, the thing is... we don't! We are friends, the same as you and me and Amanda and Jenny. You know, I could just as well say that you have a crush on Dave as say that I have a crush on Shean. Neither of them is true. See?" She nodded silently.

She was probably at least a little startled by my outburst, but I didn't want any rumors to spread that 'Val has a crush on Shean' or vice versa, because Shean would eventually find out and then he'd confront _me_ and I did _not_ want to deal with that. So decided I'd squash it now. She might be a little hurt now, but it was better than a tirade of questions from Shean later. Besides, knowing Kaet she'd forget it by tomorrow or the next day.

I rolled down onto my bed and went to sleep as fast as I could.

Kaetlin never peeked on any band rehearsals again and in about a month, we decided we were ready to take on some gigs. Our first one came on a Saturday at a party for one of the kids at school. They said they didn't want to just play some dumb CD or have a DJ who would be even more expensive. So we got to play at our first 'professional' engagement.

We didn't even have to play dance music specifically. We just got to play our Christian music, some on request, the rest on impulse. One of the favorites of the night was when Shean and I sang a duet of 'Gone' by Switchfoot.

**She told him she'd rather fix her makeup**/

**Than try to fix what's going on**/

**But the problem keeps on calling**/

**Even with the cell phone gone**/

**She told him that she believes in living/**

**Bigger than she's living now/**

_But her world keeps spinning backwards_/

_And upside down_/

Don't say so long and throw yourself wrong/

Don't spin today away 'cause today will soon be/

Gone/

Like yesterday is gone/

Like history is gone/

Just try to prove me wrong and/

_Pretend like you're immortal/_

**She said, he said, live like no tomorrow/**

_Everyday we borrow/ _

_Brings us one step closer to the edge. Infinity_/

**Where's your treasure, where's your hope**/

**If you get the world and lose your soul?/**

_She pretends like she's immortal_/

Don't say so long, you're not that far gone/

This could be your big chance to make-up/

Today will soon be/

Gone/

Like yesterday is gone/

Like history is gone/

The world keeps spinning on/

You're going, going/

Gone/

Like summer break is gone/

Like Saturday is gone/

Just try to prove me wrong and/

_Pretend like you're immortal_/

We are not infinite/

We are not permanent/

Nothing is immediate/

**And we pretend like we're immortal**/

We are so confident in our accomplishments/

Look at our decadence/

Gone/

Like Frank Sinatra/

Like Elvis and his mom

Like Al Pachino's cash/

Nothing lasts in this life/

Gone/

My high school dreams are gone/

My childhood sweets are gone/

Life is a day that doesn't last for long/

**Life is more than money**/

Time was never money/

Time was never cash/

_Life is still more than girls_/

Life is more than hundred dollar bills and/

Roto-tom fills/

Life is more than fame and rock and roll and thrills/

All the riches of the kings end up in wills/

We've got information in the information age/

But do we know what life is/

Outside of our convenient Lexus cages?/

She said he said live like no tomorrow/

Every moment that we borrow brings us closer/

To a God who's not short of cash/

Hey Bono, I'm glad you asked/

Life is still worth living!/

Everyone started to move to the music as the song started and then erupted into applause when we ended. At the end of the night, we got many, many compliments on the song. All in all, it was a marvelous night.

After that night, we became a bit busier as a band because word spread quickly through school and the students' friends. Somehow, we still found time to start Irish step dance classes again, or in my case, start for the first time.

Shean and Kaetlin had been taking it for several years and were more advanced, but they had been showing me several of the steps and I had learned them rather well, if I do say so myself.

However, on the first night, I was doing the easiest dance ever, the beginner reel and I tripped on a change-2-3. It's the most basic step, the very first one you learn and somehow I messed it up. Everyone laughed, which was rather annoying, because I was the oldest in the class by a couple years, but other than that, I was pretty good. A couple weeks later, the teacher asked me to join the intermediate class because one of the intermediate students had had to drop out because of homework or something. I gladly moved up and after that, I just kept going until I got to Shean and Kaetlin's level after several months, which was just about as high as a teenager could go.

The classes were always lots of fun. Our teacher had a great sense of humor and she was really nice. Whenever we made a mistake or did something like accidentally wearing blue jeans (which we weren't supposed to do) because we had just gone on a trip or something and they were our only clean pants, she was very understanding about it.

We were a non-competitive school, which meant that we didn't compete against dancers from other schools at competitions called 'feises' (pronounced fesh-es). We did still do shows and stuff for an audience, though, and those were always great fun. We also did a quarterly show with tap and ballet dancers, too, but the Irish step dance always got the most applause. (Val's Note: Sorry to any tap or ballet dancers reading this, but this does actually did happen a lot when I danced)

Months later, Shean came to meet me after my hour at the pet store where I volunteered a few times a week. When I came out of the store, he had my scooter all set up and he had Éire with him by his own scooter. I tilted my head at him.

"I was taking Éire out for a run at the park and I wanted to see if you wanted to come?" He replied in answer to my silent query.

"Well, I was just giving the puppies their exercise and I have to..."

"Great, let's go!" He exclaimed, popping my helmet on my head and snapping it closed, almost catching the skin on my chin in the latch. Then he sped away with Éire running happily beside him.

"Oh... oh... Shean, _wait_! Wait up!" I made up my mind to follow him even though I still needed to finish up a little bit of studying. He slowed down slightly and I caught up with him.

"What was that all about?" I asked curiously. His eyes darted around as if looking for an answer.

"Uh, uh... well, you see, I just thought you might want to go play with the dogs after you had to do all that work."

I snorted. "Shean, volunteering at the pet store is pretty much _playing_, except for when I clean out cages and stuff!"

He shrugged as if trying to ward me off. "Come on, let's go!" He cried, pushing off hard. I followed, but only because I wanted to know what his problem was.

We got to the park and let Éire run off to play. Then a wet tongue suddenly slathered itself all over my face.

"Hey, hey, Jaime, down! I love you, too!" I cried, pushing the exuberant dog down off of me. Her owner came running up.

"Sorry, Val, but you know how she is when she sees you!" The girl called, grinning. I nodded and vigorously scratched the black fur behind Jaime's ear as Sair came running over to us.

"Sorry 'bout that," Sair said again as she joined in on scratching Jaime. The border collie wriggled with pleasure.

"Hey, it's fine!" I reassured her, moving down to scratch Jaime's chin. "You know how much I love her." I sighed. "I wish I had my own border collie." Sair looked at me as if she was hiding something.

"Hey, you'll get one sometime. Everyone knows how much research you've been doing on the breed." I eyed her, but nodded.

"So how're her puppies?" I asked. Jaime had had puppies several months before I met her. They were the most adorable little bundles of fur, although I hadn't seen them for a few months because they'd all been finding homes.

Sair sighed. "Well, she still has that one little baby, the brindle, and they're such an uncommon color for border collies that no one wants him because he doesn't really look like a border collie. He's already house trained and he'll probably be totally past his teething stage in just a little while, I've had him so long, but no one wants him."

"Keegan? But he's such a sweetie!" He had been my favorite of all the puppies. He wasn't quite as big as all the other males, but he wasn't a runt by far, and he was the sweetest, cutest of them all, I thought. His coat wasn't quite as long as a rough coat, either, but it also wasn't as short as a smooth coat. He was a little oddball, but I liked him so much.

"Yeah, well, that's the way it goes."

"Val, come on, let's go back!" Shean suddenly yelled, running over with Éire. I looked up at him from where Sair and I were now scratching Jaime's belly.

"Why?"

"Uh – because! We need to get back." I growled, but got up.

"Bye, Sair. See you later!" I waved as I grabbed my scooter and followed Shean out of the dog park. He suddenly slowed down and I sped past him. Slamming on the brake, I backpedaled to him.

"What was that for!?" I yelled at him. I was completely exasperated with the guy, just about to the breaking point.

"Oh, I just remembered I wanted to stop at the grocery store and get some candy and... stuff." I growled deep in my throat.

"Make. It. _Quick_," I snarled. "A second ago, you had to get home as quick as you could, so you better make your next excuse pretty good."

"Oh, uh, yeah. Sure thing," he muttered. _Whew, that was close!_

It took me a minute to realize that I had just heard a thought. I almost groaned aloud. I hated this! Geez, some 'Gift'. I was almost ready to hate fairies and their dumb gifts, except that Mandy was one. Thinking of Mandy made me think of home... and Mother... and Father and... my little brother? I suddenly had a vivid vision.

"_Oh, Char, do you think she'll ever come back?" I saw my mother sitting on her bed, sweat glistening on her forehead and hair, holding a little bundle. She turned slightly and I saw a perfect little baby boy's face. My brother. He was as cute as I was when I was a baby (or so I was told)._

_My father came into view and sat on the bed as my mother handed the baby to Mandy and sank back into her pillow._

"_She'll come back, Ella. I'm sure of it. Remember what she said in her note that the guard gave you?" I almost sighed with relief that it had gotten to them. "It was definitely her hand, too, so she wasn't kidnapped."_

"_Are you sure it was hers?"_

_My father chuckled. "No one has that same style or quite the same messiness."_

"_But what if it wasn't? What if someone somehow forged it?" She suddenly broke down and sobbed into my father's shoulder._

"_Easy, easy, Ella. She'll come back. She promised and we both know Val doesn't ever break her promises. Three years is all."_

"_But it's already been so long! What if she's dea..." She broke off and sobbed._

The vision suddenly disappeared and I could feel a single tear in my eye. I hadn't realized how much my mother would miss me that much. I hadn't really had that much of a choice because the door had almost literally pulled me towards it and when I tried to resist, it had hurt so badly! And when did I get a baby brother? She hadn't said anything before I left, so I had to have been gone for... at least four months!? I knew I'd been gone at least three, since I'd celebrated Christmas and the a thing called 'New Year', but I hadn't realized I'd been gone _that_ long. Unless she had been meaning to tell me and –

Shean was shaking my shoulders, which jerked me out of these thoughts.

"Val! Val, are you all right?" He asked in a hurried, anxious voice. I could tell he was genuinely concerned. I pulled myself back to the present and nodded.

"Good." He looked relieved and smiled at me. "Let's go see if they have that game, then."

I looked at him and cocked my head. "I thought you said you wanted to get some candy at the grocery store?"

"Uh – well – I, uh – oh, did I say that, hehe? I had meant to say that I wanted to go see if the game store had any good games for XBox or Gameboy."

I rolled my eyes and gave up. Boys are _so_ weird.

We got to the store and to my surprise, he actually bought a game called 'Lord of the Rings' for his XBox. He had been raving about going to see the movie again since he went to the opening night when it came out in December. He still hadn't gotten his drivers license (his parents are kind of overprotective), so he couldn't drive himself. The game looked pretty interesting, though. He'd told me everything he could about the movie without giving it away and now I wanted to see it as much as he did.

We got back on our scooters and rode back home. We put them in the garage and hung up our helmets before going inside. When we walked into the living room, everything was pitch black.

"Ugh, why doesn't anyone _ever_ turn these on?" I muttered under my breath as I flipped the switch.

The second the light came on, people exploded from all over the room yelling, "Surprise! Surprise!"

I must have jumped three feet up and back. Shean grabbed my shoulders from where he'd been standing behind me and I caught his knowing smile as he pushed me into the room. I was suddenly engulfed with people asking if I had been scared (I couldn't help but think that it had to be obvious that I was) and yelling, "Happy Birthday!" in my ears.

I looked up and saw a banner that said 'Happy Birthday!' and I realized that I had forgotten my own birthday! I hadn't ever done that before, so this was almost fun. I looked around at everyone standing around me, smiling at me, all wearing the ridiculous cone hats we'd had left over from Shean's birthday in January and wishing my happy birthday. Éire was racing around and licking everyone and some people were blowing paper things that rolled back up after you blew them at each other.

Sylva suddenly started herding us all out to the yard and we played some outside team games and then some inside games before we had cake and ice cream. Looking at the sixteen candles, I realized that this meant that I was old enough to get a drivers license now, too, but I doubted I'd be able to since I'd only been here for a few months. After cake and ice cream, everyone herded me back into the living room to open presents. I pulled off all of the paper and exclaimed over every present as Kaetlin noted who gave me what so I could write thank you notes later.

Shean handed me his present himself. I opened it to find a paper promising two tickets for Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring for later that week. I jumped up and gave him a quick hug. He knew exactly what I'd wanted. He blushed, but smiled back at me. I started to thank everyone, but Kaetlin surprised me by pulling over a medium size box and handing it to me.

"This is from me and Mum and Dad," she said shyly.

I quickly opened it and stared at the contents. There was a dog leash; food and water bowls; another longer, 40-foot dog leash; and several dog toys. I looked at her quizzically.

"Why do I need these?"

She was looking at her toes, but looked like she was also trying not to laugh. Suddenly something jumped on me and started licking me wherever it could. I looked down and practically collapsed. The second I hit the ground, Keegan jumped on my chest and started licking my face

"He's yours," said a new voice that I recognized as Sair's commented softly.

I tried to sit up to look at her to see if she was joking, but had to settle for staring at her from my prone vantage point.

"You're serio – uck! Keegan, get your tongue out of my mouth!" He'd started licking my mouth when I started talking, but went back to my cheeks again.

"You're serious?" I asked again. She nodded and grinned.

I hugged Keegan and he yipped happily. Several tears of happiness ran down my cheeks along with his slobber. "You're mine, you're mine, you're mine!" I whispered to him repeatedly while hugging him. Kaetlin finally came in with a towel and handed it to me to wipe off the slobber after helping me get Keegan off me. She clipped his new leash onto his collar and handed it to me.

"This is one of the best days of my life!" I announced. "Thank you to everyone who came to make it that way! I love you all!" Everyone laughed and gave me birthday wishes and slowly trickled until the only ones left in the house were the O'Connors and Sair, and me.

Finally letting go of Keegan, I hugged Sair tightly. "Thank you _so_ much!" I whispered. Then I went and repeated the gesture with Mr. and Mrs. O'Connor. The just smiled at me and told me I was part of the family now, and if the others got a pet, I was sure responsible enough. Then I went and hugged Keegan. Then we all trickled out of the room and we kids went up to Kaetlin's room.

Éire followed us up, trying to get a good sniff of Keegan, who was trotting along in front of us and looking back as if to say 'hurry up, you slow two leggers! Let's _go_!' I grinned. Border collies always have to go and even though Keegan might not look like one, he still acted like one!

I flopped onto my bed and grunted as Keegan landed next to me and put his paws on my chest. "Keegy, c'mon, off!" I grunted at him and moved his paws over. He moved and licked my face once. Éire jumped up on the bed too and started sniffing him all over. I grinned at the two dogs. They seemed to like each other well enough, although I wasn't sure what Kaetlin's cat, Patches of Fantasy would think of Keegan. Well, she'd been living with Éire her whole life, so as long as Keegy didn't try to herd her, she'd probably be fine with him.

"Wow, he's pretty," Kaet commented, lying on her bed to dangle her arm down to my bed to pet Keegan. "He doesn't look like his mom, though."

I shook my head. "Nope. That's why I like him." He licked me and I laughed. "And his personality!"

Shean must have felt left out of all the kisses, because he suddenly came over and started scratching Keegan behind the ears where he liked it. Keegan twisted around and started kissing Shean all over his face, then rolled onto his back for Shean to scratch his tummy. He started wriggling and kicking in pleasure, then caught Shean under the chin as he leaned over so he could scratch him better. Shean stopped scratching when he got kicked and Keegan rolled over, looking concerned. Then he 'kissed his boo-boo' as if to say that he was sorry. We all laughed.

Yep, this was one of the best days of my life.

A/N: Do you think you know what happens next? Tell me! Since I write this freehand (no outline), I don't know what's going to happen next either. So if you think that so-and-so's going to do this, or this-and-such is going to happen, post it in your review or email me. There's a good enough chance I might put it into the story!


	9. Chapter Nine: Movies and More

Disclaimer: I am Jaina Solo, Jedi, star fighter pilot, ace mechanic, and daughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo! But am I Gail Carson Levine? No. Then did I write Ella Enchanted? No. Thank you. (sorry, I just have _so_ much fun writing up dumb disclaimers, heehee!) Lord of the Rings (the greatest book ever) belongs to JRR Tolkien and will forever and ever! (even though he's dead now) The movies (which, alas, could not include all the best parts of the book, although the extended editions come close) belong to New Line Cinema.

A/N: Thank you to EllaFreak for pointing out that I'd given Val a younger sister. I'd completely forgotten about that. Whew! Okay, good, now I won't mess up. Thank you to all my eagle eyed reviewers! For this chapter, if you could add a little snippet onto your review to let me know how you think the characters are developing, that would be _so_ great! Thanks so much!

**Chapter Nine: Movies and More**

That Saturday, I was downstairs at the bar counter eating my cereal when Shean suddenly said, "Hey, Val."

I jumped and splashed the Cheerios and the milk on my all over my face and my clothes. He had come up so quietly that he'd scared me good.

"Sh_ean_!" I yelled, glaring at him as he ran to get me a damp washcloth before I whacked him a good one over the head. He got it to me just before I decided to smack him and saved himself.

I mopped at all the wet spots a few times before giving up.

"Oh, thanks, now I have to go change again!" As I turned to run upstairs, I saw his mouth open, but I didn't bother to wait for whatever he was going to say.

I came downstairs a few minutes later in a new pair of tan zip-off pants and a sky blue shirt. Now Shean was the one eating his breakfast. I had been almost done and he had cleared my bowl for me. I leaned against the wall, arms crossed, and waited for him to notice me. He finally did.

"Oh, hi, Val," he said around a big mouthful of Mini Wheats. I looked up at the ceiling.

"Shean, we really _don't_ like seeing your chewed up food."

He glanced down at his bowl as he swallowed, looking embarrassed. "Sorry," he said when his mouth was empty.

"It's fine. Now what had you been going to say when you startled all that milk onto my shirt?"

He looked over at me and looked like he was trying to smother laughter. I raised my eyebrows warningly at him and he regained his composure.

"Oh, uh, I was going to remind you that today's the One Ring to bring them all to the theaters, including you and me."

I jumped up and clapped my hands. "Oh, _yeah_! Woohoo!" I yelled (but not too loudly) and did a jig step around the kitchen. Shean grinned.

"I didn't think you'd mind it so much after I reminded you."

I shook my head happily, still doing a sink and grind to finish the jig step.

"So when is the showing?" I asked, still panting slightly from my jig.

"At 11:15. You have a couple hours to get ready before Mum drives us to the theater." I nodded. He knew I'd bring a book light to read by and about 3 books to read snippets from during the ten minutes of previews and the time we'd wait for the previews to start. I don't know why I do that, but I do.

For once, skate lessons couldn't end soon enough for me. When they were finally over, Shean and I rushed out to the car, threw our suitcases that we kept our skates in into the trunk, and hopped into the car. Kaetlin, on the other hand just walked at her usual pace out to the car.

"Come _on_, Kaet!" Shean yelled out the window. "We don't want to be late!"

"Oh, shove off, Shean!" She replied in a disgusted voice, throwing her suitcase in the trunk. "The theater is, what, two blocks away? It's forty-five minutes till the movie starts, for cryin' out loud!"

"Well, there – there might be lines," Shean said, trying to sound sure of himself. I knew he was just as excited as I was. We all (Kaet included) liked fantasy a _bit_ too much.

Sylva dropped us off at the front and we both climbed out and waved goodbye. Then I noticed that Shean was carrying something.

"Shean, why do you need a bag?" I asked curiously.

"I – I brought some books, too." Wow, he'd been stammering a lot today. (well, twice was a lot for him) But then again, he'd made me spill milk on myself, too, so maybe stammering wasn't out of the ordinary for the day. I decided to forget about it.

We stood in line to get our tickets and it wasn't _too_ bad... considering it was a Saturday. But we still got in ten minutes too early (we didn't get any popcorn or anything) and I got out my books and started reading. I half expected Shean to do the same, since he'd said he had brought some books, but he didn't. The previews finally started and a bunch of teenagers started yelling 'We want the Ring! We want the Ring!', so Shean and I joined in. To our surprise, they skipped the previews! I snuggled back into my uncomfortably hard seat and got 'comfy' for my soon-to-be-favorite three-plus hours long movie.

When the movie (sadly) ended and we left the theater, I was pretty literally bouncing in circles.

"Ooh, that was the best movie _ever_! Doncha think? Huh, huh, huh?" I asked Shean, bouncing in circles around him like Keegan. He nodded enthusiastically.

"The best! And wait till you see the next one! Hold on, I'm gonna call Mum, then we can wait on the curb for her to pick us up." I nodded, only half hearing what he'd said because I was pretending to be Frodo and Sam at the same time, fleeing the Shire and meeting elves (who I still thought were weird, especially since Elrond wore a dress).

Then I felt someone tap me on my leg and I snapped out of it. Shean motioned for me to sit down on the curb next to him. I did and we sat in silence before I finally asked a question that had been nagging me for a while.

"Hey, Shean, why aren't there any girls in Lord of the Rings? I mean, other than Arwen, who doesn't really count 'cause she's almost always... well... you know..."

"Kissing Aragorn?" Shean asked. There was a pause, and then we both made identical revolted expressions at the same time. We laughed.

"She does it 'cause she's sick," Shean laughed. "But I've got something that'll answer all." He reached into the bag and pulled out a little gift wrapped box. I eyed him.

"This isn't some trick, is it? Something like in Peter Pan where Hook tried to kill Peter?" Shean laughed.

"No way. Go on, open it, open it!"

I quickly peeled back the paper and squealed out loud when I opened the box. I reached over and gave Shean a big hug and a little peck on the cheek. He blushed as red as I've ever seen a guy blush.

"Ooh, thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou_thankyou_!!" I squealed, bouncing up and down while sitting on the curb. He had given me the full set of the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the Hobbit. Then I noticed a little bookmark with Frodo and Sam and a tassel hanging off it with a little One Ring replica on it. I could put the Ring on a chain like Frodo and use the bookmark separately!

"_Thank you!_" I cried, hugging him again quickly, then holding the box to me and bouncing some more. I glanced over. He was still blushing, even if it was just a little pink, not red anymore.

He'd known I had made myself promise not to read the book (I refer to the whole trilogy as 'the book' because that's how Tolkien wrote it, and I refer to the movies as 'the movie') until I'd seen the movie. I looked on the back of one of the books and saw a little picture of Legolas. I flicked him.

"Ugh, he's ugly," I said. The other girls at school had been raving about him ever since the movie came out for some reason. I didn't see what was so 'hot' about him, as they so mildly put it.

Shean looked up, almost looking elated. "You don't like him?"

I shook my head and wrinkled my nose at him. "You kidding? He looks like a lemon, complete with the big, visible pores, and he probably tastes just about as good."

Shean gave a little tiny whoop and hugged me quickly. When he let go, I leaned away from him and scooted to the side in mock horror. I could feel my face turning a light shade of red-pink, too.

"What was _that_ for?"

"I finally met a girl who doesn't think that _Elf_ is 'hot'!" He said the last bit so sarcastically that I had to laugh.

"Hey, he's not, _trust_ me. Geez, _anyone's_ hotter than him, even you!"

Shean almost looked hurt, then grinned. "That was a compliment, and so, of course, not true!" I raised an eyebrow again.

"Translation?"

"Oh, just something Merry said."

"Where? I didn't hear him say that? I heard him say he broke something and a lot of other dumb stuff, but not anything about a compliment."

Shean shook his head. "No, it's in the _book_ of the Fellowship. Here, let me show you."

I already had the book out, so he reached around me and flipped some pages to page 42.

"There, see?" I nodded. "Read them in order, but Éowyn doesn't show up until Two Towers."

"Who?"

"Your soon-to-be-favorite character." I raised an eyebrow skeptically. He laughed. "Trust me, she will be! Oh, there's Mum. Pack it up and let's go." He handed me the bag and I slipped all of my books in and we stood up. The car drove over to us and we climbed in.

A few weeks later, I was in my room playing 'Foxhunter' on my Irish penny whistle when Shean knocked on the door.

"Come in," I called in between my breath and the second half of the first verse.

He opened the door and waited for me to finish the song before he spoke.

"Nice and crisp," he said.

I stared at him. "You came in here to say _that_?" I asked incredulously.

He shook his head. "You know the school dance?"

I snorted. "Uh, _ye-ah!_ We're playing some sets, remember?" It was getting close to the end of May, which was when our school ended. There was always an all-grades school dance on the last night of school. We were taking the first shift of playing the music, then another couple of bands would take their own turns.

He shifted his weight from foot to foot uncomfortably. "Come on, Shean, spit it out!"

He put his hand up to his mouth and spit something into it. "Here." He held out his gum. I rolled my eyes.

"Oh, brother. Quit it and talk!"

"Okay. Hi, my name is Shean O'Connor and your name is Princess Avalla and my sister's name is Kaetlin and that's Keegan and-"

"Shean!" I yelled and gave him a little slap. Hey, that had been fun! "Hurry up and get it over with!" Why was he being so weird and what was with the dance?

"Will-you-go-with-me-to-the-dance?" He said it so fast that it sounded like one word. I stared at him, struggling not to laugh.

"You want _me_ to go to the dance with _you_?" I couldn't help but let out a little burst of laughter. He nodded. "Why?"

"Well, the guys dared me to and all the other girls have dates already," he replied awkwardly. I nodded.

"Good, that's what I thought. Um... well, I _guess_ so. But you already know how I dance!"

Shean laughed. "Yeah: about as well as I do."

I gasped. "Shean! I do believe that's an insult!" I winked to let him know I was joking. He grinned.

"Thanks. The other guys were going to make me color my hair blue or something if I didn't get a date." I raised an eyebrow.

"Then why didn't you ask someone who is actually pretty?"

Shean shrugged. "I already told you, they all have dates and besides, they just want to talk about makeup and 'how romantic this is'. And if I mention Lord of the Rings, they start saying 'cute' Orlando Bloom and Legolas are when I had wanted to talk about the Silmarillion and the mythology of Middle-earth and stuff."

I laughed. "Oh well, I said I'll go and I guess I will, even if that's the only reason."

He flashed a quick grin. "Thanks! You saved my hair!" He added as he left.

"Uh... yeah." I shook my head and went back to my penny whistle.

A/N: Do you think you know what happens next? Tell me! Since I write this freehand (no outline), I don't know what's going to happen next either. So if you think that so-and-so's going to do this, or this-and-such is going to happen, post it in your review or email me. There's a good enough chance I might put it into the story!


	10. Chapter Ten: Dancing

Disclaimer: Jedi, I am; Shieldmaiden of Rohan, I am; but Gail Carson Levine, I am not. Write Ella Enchanted, I did not, then. (yes, that's Yoda speech) Yes, the song is actually mine. (Woohoo! I actually wrote a semi-half-decent song!) I did get some inspiration from the Zenon Z3 soundtrack, though, hehe. The other song is _MINE_, totally and completely! If you try to steal it, I will sue you! (yes, I actually might) I'm very proud of it and it HAS BEEN IN PRINT and is now copyrighted. So take it at your own risk. Thank you. (don't take it personally, I just treat everything I'm that proud of just like Gollum and his 'precious'. Yes, that includes my Ring replica that I wear on a chain on my neck and yell 'My precioussss' and slap people when anyone tries to touch it, heehee)

A/N: Yes, there's another song. Sorry, I just have so much fun with songs! (I listen to the radio and/or my CDs almost non-stop, so that's probably why, hehe) Okay, this song'll be easy. I won't put in any dumb moves (I'm sure you're all tired of them), so the regular text in **bold** is Val's lines, and the _italic_ text is Shean's lines, and the regular text is when they sing together. Easy enough? Good. Now read on.

I hope no one minds rain because I _had_ to work it in because I've lived in Washington for my whole life and if there isn't rain, you don't live in Washington. Sorry, I'll shut up now and let you read. I talk too much, huh?

Chapter Ten: Dancing 

A couple weeks later we were all ready for the dance. The band had some pretty cool songs ready to play, I had a decent dress, and Kaetlin actually had a date.

We all piled into the car (Kaetlin and her date were coming with us) and Shean and I packed up the band equipment. The speakers were there already, luckily, so we didn't have to pack those, for which we were grateful. I still didn't know how to dance, but that was... okay. I guess.

We drove to school and we all piled out and unloaded the remaining equipment with the help of the other boys in the band. Well, the boys and our new girl. John's girlfriend had joined to play keyboard. I even got to play my penny whistle (my best instrument, even though I play piano, too) while Sam sang. I thought she had a better voice than me, actually, but the guys decided to keep me as lead for some reason.

We got set up and chatted for a few minutes before the dance officially started. We started with a song I had written myself:

**The stars/**

**Are floating all around our heads and falling/**

**Like leaves/**

**On a cold autumn day/**

**I try/**

**To catch them all as they fall/**

**But I can't/**

**Catch even one/**

Climbing so high/

We're almost high enough/

To find our dreams waiting/

When we make it to the top/

Out of this world/

It's more than I imagined/

I could not even fathom/

The wonder of space/

Out of this world/

Now that you're beside me/

You won't ever leave me/

When we're almost at the top/

And out of this world/

_Your smile/_

_Can't be expressed in just a single word/_

_It takes/_

_More than I can say/_

_Your voice/_

_Was calling me from across the heavens/_

_And like/_

_A beacon I came/_

And now we're so high/

We're so close to the top/

And as long as you're beside me/

I know we'll never stop/

Out of this world/

It's more than I imagined/

I could not even fathom/

The wonder of space/

Out of this world/

And now that you're beside me/

You won't ever leave me/

When we're almost at the top/

And out of this world/

**So many dreams to fly to/**

_I'll be right beside you_/

**We're getting closer to the goal/**

_There sparkling/_

**We'll let the world amaze us/**

**While all the stars enfold us/**

**I'll wish upon them all/**

Out of this world/

It's more than I imagined/

I could not even fathom/

The wonder of space/

Out of this world/

And now that you're beside me/

You won't ever leave me/

When we're almost at the top/

And out of this world/

(bridge)

Out of this world/

It's more than I imagined/

I could not even fathom/

The wonder of space/

Out of this world/

And now that you're beside me/

You won't ever leave me/

When we're almost at the top/

Out of this world/

Out of this world

_Out of this world/_

**Out of this world/**

_Out of this world/_

**Out of this world/**

Out of this... world/

We finished to rounds of applause and took our bows. We did several more songs before being relieved so we could go dance.

We got out onto the dance floor and then I remembered I couldn't dance.

"Oh, shards. Shean, I can't dance!" I whispered as the music started.

He laughed. "Oh, come on, just have some fun!" He replied softly, pulling me onto the floor.

I kept protesting, but he grabbed me hands and forcefully kept me on the floor.

"Come on, all you have to do is swing to the music," he reminded me, "and I _know_ you can do that!" I groaned, but complied.

Finally I got tired of wiggling around across the floor and looking like a dork. I told Shean I'd be back and walked up to the other band who was playing and made a couple song requests. They nodded and I went back down to the floor to wait for my song.

The minute it started up, Shean looked at me in surprise. I nodded with a sly grin and we started the turn out count for one of our two-hands from stepdance class.

Everyone stared at us for a few seconds, then started doing these funny kicks and spins, trying to copy us and stay in time with the music. Shean and I had been practicing this dance in class for a while, so we knew it pretty well and we didn't have to concentrate so hard that we couldn't chuckle at what everyone else was trying to do.

When we finished our dance, there was still plenty of music left, so we did some solo steps and one other two-hand reel before the band started my other request: a light jig piece. Shean shook his head, but we did one of the two-hands we'd made up ourselves and some other steps. Now I wouldn't mind looking dumb so much because now everyone else had looked dumb while I was in my element.

There were many more of the bouncy songs that everyone knew better than me, and then we got to the end of the night and the last band played a few slow dances. Everyone just glided around the floor like a waltz. I glanced over to see Kaetlin leaning her head on her date's shoulder as they danced. I suppressed a laugh and jerked my head in their direction to point Shean's attention towards them. He glanced at them, then quickly looked away and I could tell he was trying not to laugh.

"That's _so_ like her!" He whispered, grinning. I nodded, trying to suppress a smile.

I couldn't. We both started choking as we tried to stop laughing and we had to sit down just before bursting into quiet laughter. Kaet looked so ridiculous! Her date was about a head taller than her, so the top of her head only touched his shoulder.

We finally got ourselves under control and danced for the last few songs before one of the teachers (I think they were 'chaperones' or something for that night) announced that school was now officially over and congratulations to those of you who graduated and blah, blah, blah. Actually, it was pretty short, especially when compared to some of the speeches I'd heard in Kyrria.

Everyone started filing out to either climb into a waiting car or to wait at the window for their ride home. We had said we'd walk home since we didn't have to bring back the band equipment (it was actually mostly stuff that belonged to the school or the other band members and one of the other boys from our band had said he'd bring back Shean's guitar). When we stepped outside, though, we instantly regretted our dumb decision.

"Oh, _shoot_!" I complained as I held out a hand to catch one of the trillions of raindrops that were falling from the sky. "I _hate_ Washington!"

Shean laughed. "Hey, get used to it, Val. Like you said, this is Washington, and for us, this is normal weather! Actually, it's been pretty nice lately." He winked and I made a face. It had been sprinkling rain, at the very least, almost constantly, it seemed like, although we had actually been able to see the sun earlier that day. And he said it had been pretty nice lately!

I groaned.

"Oh, _shards_!" I moaned. "I don't even have a coat! We were loading everything into the car, and then your mum packed us all in and we left and I forget to get one! _Urgh!_"

"Hey, it's okay. We can use mine and see if we can make it home before the rain gets too bad."

I stared at him and raised an eyebrow.

"Um, yeah. I'll take one sleeve and you'll take the other and I'll find some scissors and cut the hood in half so that we each only get half our heads wet. That'll work _great_, Shean!" I said sarcastically, but grinned at him so he wouldn't take offense. He laughed.

"No, we'll just drape it over us and hold onto it as we run. Trust me, it works. I've done it before with the other guys."

I shrugged and heaved a little sigh.

"Well, I guess it's better than getting soaked."

He pulled off his jacket and we draped it over ourselves. It wasn't quite large enough to reach down our backs as it would have if it had been on just Shean. So only half of my back was protected, but I didn't really care if my skirt and lower half of my shirt got wet. I just didn't want to get my hair wet, because then I'd have to take a shower. I still hadn't quite gotten used to the thought of running water making it possible to take baths or showers as often as you wanted, so I didn't like to take them often.

On the count of three, we ran out of the school building and along the sidewalk. It was hard to run while trying to both hold the jacket over us but we seemed to manage somehow. Then the rain started to slowly intensify.

"Quick, under the bus stop!" Shean called. Considering that his mouth was about six inches away from my ear, it was pretty loud.

We got under the bus stop shelter just as the rain started coming down in a torrent. Luckily, the small wind was blowing it towards our backs, where the shelter was protecting us, so we didn't get any more wet than we already were.

There was a moment of silence, then I started laughing softly. Shean tried not to, but soon he joined in. After a few seconds, we were laughing so loud we could almost hear each other over the pounding of the rain. We finally got ourselves under control and there was a moment of awkward silence.

I suddenly realized how cold I was. I was wearing a knee-length skirt and a shirt with three-quarter length sleeves. I was only wearing ankle socks (I usually wear knee-highs) and dress shoes. None of these were as thick and substantial as they probably should have been for May in Washington, Land of the Never Ceasing Rain, not to mention that I was sitting on a bitter cold metal bench. Against my will, I started shivering. I knew I probably looked like one of those helpless girls in the romance movies Kaet was always watching, but I couldn't help it. I tried not to chatter my teeth, but in Washington, the rain is freezing cold 99.99999(etc.) of the time and if you're outside while it's raining, you can't help but be cold.

"Here, do you want my coat?" Shean asked. I had moved about a foot over on the bench when we sat down and the jacket had slid off of me onto him. I shook my head miserably, still shivering.

Shean rolled his eyes. "Yes you do. Here," he added, putting it onto my shoulders. I handed it back.

"Your shirt's thinner than mine," I said, pushing it back onto him. It was true: his was a dress shirt, while mine was made out of t-shirt material.

"Well, I've got on pants and real shoes, and you're just wearing a skirt and dress shoes," he replied, putting it back on me.

"No, it's yours!" I protested, giving it back. Truth to tell, I didn't care about any of the reasons I was giving him as much as I did that he thought I was one of those girls who was always acting helpless just to get guys' attention.

_What is wrong with her?_ I heard him ask.

"Nothing's wrong with me!" I realized my mistake when he gave me a funny look.

He hadn't spoken that aloud... that had been a thought. I mentally banged my forehead on a wall repeatedly as I do when I'm frustrated. Dumbo, dimboldt, numbskull, _idiot_! How dumb could I be?

"Why do you say that?" He asked cautiously.

I shrugged, trying to make it look casual. "I dunno."

He narrowed his eyes at me. "Yeah, right. It sounded like you were replying to something, but I didn't say anything." I squirmed uncomfortably as I saw him starting to understand what had happened. "Wait a second! I had been thinking 'what's wrong with her' and then you yelled 'nothing's wrong with me'... you can read minds!?" He added incredulously. I squirmed even more as he all but glared at me.

"Well?"

"I – I –"

He rolled his eyes. "Just say 'yes, Shean, I can read your mind' and get it over with." I sighed.

"Yes, Shean, I can read your mind and get it over with." I hoped he'd take that attempt at humor and laugh. There was too much tension in the bus stop.

He didn't laugh. Instead, he glared at me. I moved over another foot. He scooted after me, his eyes smoldering with anger.

"You've been able to read our minds all the time! You could just look at us and find out what we were thinking. Are you some spy or something?"

I shook my head quickly. "I'm not a spy, Shean. You've got to believe me!" I protested, scooting over another foot on the bench as he moved closer to me, still glaring. "And I can't read your mind anytime I want. I just suddenly can hear someone thinking at random moments. I never know when it'll come again."

"How can I believe you?" Shean asked. He stopped advancing and crossed his arms.

I thought frantically, racking my brain. Then I tried something.

"Okay, look, I can let you hear my thoughts too! I don't know why, but I just figured out how to do it. You might be able to see my thoughts when you asked me all those questions; I – I don't know, but I'm going to let you in – now."

I opened my mind to him and let our consciences flow into one. I found that I could hear some of his thoughts from a few minutes ago and the force of his anger and feeling of betrayal was so strong that I jumped away and withdrew my mind from him.

Unfortunately, I forgot that there was only so much bench left and I landed hard on the cement and hit my head on the hard side of the shelter. I gasped in pain and jumped up, leaning on the side of the building with my shoulder as I tried not to cry.

Shean jumped up, concern now on his face. I guessed that he had probably had about the same experience I had and I hoped that he would now believe me.

"Hey, Val, it's okay, now," he said, coming over and bringing me back to the bench. My head was pounding now and I couldn't help crying a little.

"Hey, it's okay now, I'm not mad at you. I'm sorry for accusing you of all that." He stroked my hair like my mother used to when I was upset and I forgot myself and cried into his shoulder, letting out all the physical and emotional pain out into my tears. I cried for my homesickness, I cried for having missed my little brother's birth and my little sister's birthday, I cried for all the mixed up emotions rolling around in my brain, I cried because my head hurt still hurt like heck.

I finally got myself under control and remembered where I was. I quickly jumped away. "I'm sorry. My head hurt so much after I hit it and..." I didn't want to explain the rest, so I hoped he'd take that explanation. He did.

"Hey, it's okay. I understand. _Now_ do you want the jacket?" I shook my head and there was a pause. "Well, how about if we share it, then, until the rain lets up a bit, and then we can go home." I considered it a moment and then nodded reluctantly. The jacket was better than freezing my buns off, and right now, I decided, that was all I wanted. And maybe if I was warm, I could forget about how much my head hurt.

Shean pushed me onto the bench where he had been sitting. "There, that's warmer than the rest of the bench." I started to protest, then decided against it. Knowing how stubborn we both are, I would be sitting on the same spot until the rain let up, arguing that he should keep his spot. Shean slung the jacket over our shoulders and we huddled together, trying to keep warm. He sighed.

"I told Mum we'd be late for sure, but I didn't realize we'd be _this_ late." He sighed again. "Oh well, she probably knows what happened since we said we'd walk anyways." I nodded silently. It was rather uncomfortable on the bench. I wanted to keep the jacket over my shoulders, but I didn't want to sit uncomfortably close to Shean.

"Hey, I don't bite," he said, meaning that I shouldn't try to hold onto the jacket while almost falling off the bench again. I moved over half an inch, feeling more uncomfortable than I had ever felt in my entire life, even more than at those stuffy meetings Mother had been making me attend lately. I could feel the tension start to slowly mount. I started singing Out of this World softly to try to break a bit of the tension. To my surprise, Shean joined in. After we finished, I started singing another song. This one, however, I was making up on the spot. I started singing a lament (of sorts) from Faramir's point of view (from Lord of the Rings) and then Shean took over and I came in to do Eowyn's lines.

_He wishes I had died/_

_That Boromir had lived/_

_Maybe I should just give/_

_In to it all/_

_But maybe there's a last drop of hope/_

_Waiting there for me/_

_At the end of the rainbow/_

_A drop I didn't see/_

**I wish I was born a man/**

**Allowed to ride and lend a hand/**

**To aid in this war/**

**Why can't I make him see/**

**All that I am trying to be/**

**I'd give anything/**

**To ride at his side/**

**I am a shieldmaiden/**

**A shieldmaid of Rohan/**

**A daughter of kings/**

**Aiding in this War of the Rings!/**

_Gandalf says I shouldn't/_

_Throw my life away/_

_But I come this close/_

_To doing that every day/_

_But maybe this time will be/_

_Different in some way/_

_Maybe this time/_

_I will hear him say/_

'_Faramir, my son/_

_You have done well/_

_In this war you've done/_

_Very well, my son'/_

**If only he would look deeper/**

**Deeper into me/**

**Maybe I could make him see/**

**Something worthwhile in me/**

_But until he looks/_

_Deeper than outside/_

_He will never know/_

_Just who I am inside!/_

**You can't judge a book/ **

**Can't judge it by it's cover/**

**If only he would look/**

**Closer at me/**

_And if he looked closer/_

_I know I could make him see/_

_Just who I am/_

_And who I try to be_/

There was silence for a moment after we finished, then Shean said, "Wow, that wasn't half bad." I shook my head wordlessly, replaying all the lines in my mind to file them away so I could pen them the next morning.

"You know, I've always wanted to write a song for LotR," Shean finally said, breaking the silence that had settled, "but that was better than I could have done by myself." I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say, so I started playing with my hair. It was still very cold, although the rain was petering out, and I started shivering a little.

"Cold?" Shean asked suddenly. I nodded slightly. "I am too. I already told you I don't bite." He suddenly pulled me over a bit so that I was sitting right next to him. I had moved away a bit and now I was even colder. I could feel Shean shivering too. We sat in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes.

"Oh, _hang_ this stupid rain!" I finally burst out, my teeth still chattering a little.

Shean grinned. "I'm with you there. Geez, I'm cold! Well, at least we don't live in Alaska!" I had heard a bit about Alaska and I picked up from his mind that it was probably the coldest state in America. Well, we sure didn't live there. Alaska had snow almost year round, from what I could tell, and we barely ever saw it here.

Without thinking, I laid my head on Shean's shoulder, my teeth starting to chatter again. He put an arm around my shoulder. We sat in silence for a few minutes. Then Shean suddenly jerked his arm away.

"Val, I–" He started, then stopped, obviously unsure of what to say. I just shrugged, having been glad to get a bit of extra warmth. I knew he had something more to say and I looked up at him to find him looking down at me. His eyes, usually ice blue where now soft and deep as they looked at me and we stared at each other, our faces inches apart...

A/N: Do you think you know what happens next? Tell me! Since I write this freehand (no outline), I don't know what's going to happen next either. So if you think that so-and-so's going to do this, or this-and-such is going to happen, post it in your review or email me. There's a good enough chance I might put it into the story!

**After note: Okay, this may get rewritten and updated, depending on the feedback I get, especially on the last part. So _PLEASE_ review and get anyone else you know to review. I _really_ need it because I'm kind of stuck for the next chapter, so if you have any ideas for what should happen in the next year, that would be _great_ (I'll just write one, _MAYBE_ (probably not) two chapters before bringing Val back to Kyrria). I also need Beta Reader(s), so email me if you'd be willing to do that. Thanks so much to everyone who reads this!!**


	11. Chapter Eleven: Attack! of the Clones

Disclaimer: Hi, I'm Jaina Solo. Yes, that means I'm not Gail Carson Levine. Yes, that means I wrote Ella Enchanted. Oh wait... no it doesn't. It means I didn't. Got it? Good. (Geez, I hate disclaimers, heehee! They always sound so dumb. Blech) Chapter Eleven 

Pulling away, I looked outside. (and you thought you had us! Mwuhahahaha!)

"The rain's let up," I said softly, standing up. I thought I heard Shean sigh, too, but he stood up and draped his jacket on our shoulders again. The rain was still drizzling quietly down, and I still didn't want to get wet, so I was grateful for the jacket and I said so. He shrugged.

"Heck, I'd do the same for anyone else. Come on, let's go," he said brusquely.

On the count of three, we dashed out into the rain and ran up the sidewalk. We made it through an intersection by managing perfect timing and getting there as the light going our way turned green. We somehow managed this feat all the way to the house.

We ran up the front steps laughing and knocked on the door. I wished there was a porch, or at least some decent sized eaves, because there wasn't and there weren't, so we had to stand together with Shean's jacket over our heads until Kaetlin opened the door.

I could see that she thought we had been up to something for the half hour we had been gone. I straightened her out that night.

Later that week, Tourney had his fifteenth birthday party. His excitement about his birthday coupled with his natural joker's tendency brought disaster. Well, for me, anyways.

He decided that to come to his party, you had to have a date. We were all going to go to a movie and then come home so Tour could open his presents and we could all have cake and stuff.

I went because, one: Tour invited me, which was surprising; second: Shean looked so pitiful on his knees begging me to go with him so he could actually go that I couldn't say no; third: because I actually _wanted_ to see the movie. (I usually don't want to because Tourney usually likes gory movies and other strange movie genres, but this time he was taking us to see Star Wars: Episode II, which had just came out in theaters that month)

Everyone met at the theater and when everyone had arrived, Tour announced something that made almost everyone groan. He and his disgusting little mind had decided that since everyone had a date, we all had to actually _act_ like girlfriends and boyfriends! Most of us were just friends who had decided to pair up so that we could actually go and he knew it and must have decided it would be fun to do this. I was about ready to slug Tourney for this devilish deed, but Shean dissuaded me, assuring me that he'd help me do it the next week at school. (Tourney was paying for the movie, you see) Seeing it in that light, I agreed.

As we were figuring out which screen was playing the movie, Tourney whispered in my ear that I also had to act like a _girl_, like Kaet. I groaned softly as he and his date passed me.

I always (unintentionally) cheered in the same places the boys did (the fight scenes, not when they saw a pretty girl) and would cover my eyes for the kissing and romantic stuff (which I found disgusting), and Tour knew it. I wouldn't put it past him to videotape me pretending to be a girly-girl just for the fun of it. I sighed and decided I'd better go along with it. Heck, it'd be kinda fun to see Shean's face when I started putting my head on his shoulder and stuff like I knew Kaetlin would do to her date. I'd just copy what she did... as long as I didn't get caught up in the action of the movie like I usually did.

We all found seats and sat down and waited for the movie to start. Shean and I sat where there was actually a bit of light and read during the stupid previews. Then the movie _finally_ started.

I leaned forwards in my seat as the beloved and well known opener scrolled across the screen.

_Episode II: Attack of the Clones_, it read. I was happy to see that the synopsis of the prologue... type... thingy didn't go out of the boundaries on the screen like it did in the old trilogy, so I could actually read everything now. I waited impatiently for the movie itself to start, practically bouncing up and down in my seat. Shean put a hand on my shoulder to make me quit, his eyes glued to the screen too.

The movie started and I settled down, forgetting all about everything else, including Tourney's instructions. Then about half way through the movie, Shean broke me out of my reverie.

"I'm gonna go get some popcorn; want some?" I looked at him, startled.

"Oh, uh, no," I whispered back. Tourney, who was sitting behind us, used this opportunity to tap me on the shoulder. I turned my head a little and looked at him out of the corner of my eye while watching the screen with the rest.

"Don't forget what I said," he said. "Otherwise you get the consequences," he added, sitting back. I sighed. He'd explained the 'consequences' already. You just had to play 'spin the bottle' or some other weird game. I wasn't sure what it was, but it couldn't be too bad.

I sat back down to watched the movie again, but now I knew that I had to do something because Tourney was definitely watching me.

When the next 'romantic' type scene came up, I slowly laid my head on Shean's shoulder like I saw Kaetlin doing. To my surprise, Shean didn't react the same way I'd thought he would. I had thought he would jerk away and hiss at me, asking what the _heck_ I was doing. Instead he put his arm around my shoulders. This time it was me who jerked away.

"What're you _doing_?" I hissed softly so only he could hear.

"Tourney's watching," he replied equally softly. I didn't turn to look because I knew he was right. I sighed softly and resumed my previous position until the dumb scene was over. When we got to the Geonosis arena scene, I was bouncing in my chair again, not caring what Tourney thought.

"Yeah, Padmé!" I whispered under my breath as she got into the fight and climbed the pillar. I couldn't help but snicker because Obi-wan and Anakin hadn't figured out that move.

Soon, however, the movie was over and we all left with a sigh. We all carpooled back to Tourney's house and then went home after the party.

Kaetlin, of course, had had lots of fun (go figure) and loudly announced it on the way home. She also snickered when she mentioned what a 'cute couple' Shean and I were.

We both bared our teeth and hissed at her.

A/N: Do you think you know what happens next? Tell me! Since I write this freehand (no outline), I don't know what's going to happen next either. So if you think that so-and-so's going to do this, or this-and-such is going to happen, post it in your review or email me. There's a good enough chance I might put it into the story!


	12. Chapter Twelve: California, Here We Come

Disclaimer: The bad thing about having a long story is all the stupid disclaimers I have to write. Okay. Does _any_one actually think I wrote Ella Enchanted? _Thank_ you! I didn't think so. Good. Now we've got that over with, I'll continue.

A/N: Sorry 'bout the long delay. My laptop keyboard is now fixed and I'll try to update more often. I'm also going to rewrite the story at some point and fix it up (not changing the storyline _too_ dramatically, I hope).

Okay, the only time I've been to California is a few times when I've gone to Disneyland and California Adventure, so if I have my facts wrong, please correct me and I will change them when I do the rewrite. Also, any suggestions for the complete rewrite (of the whole story), please email them to me and put 'PLEASE FORWARD TO JAINA EOWYN' in Caps in the subject. Thanks, everyone!!

Chapter Twelve: California, Here We Come! 

"You're all dismissed," our youth pastor announced at the end of youth. It was a year later and I was now seventeen. We all stood up to leave when he suddenly waved his hands.

"Wait, wait!" We all stopped and turned around. "Don't forget: tomorrow is the last day to sign up for the youth vacation."

We all cheered. It was near the end of summer and every August or so we went to the beach for a 'youth vacation'. It was kind of like a youth retreat, but we just had prayer time and youth group meetings every other night instead of a speaker.

We walked upstairs in a big mob of teenagers to meet our parents who were coming out of the sanctuary at the same time.

Shean waved. "Hey, Mum, over here!" He called and his parents made their way through the throng to us.

"Hey, um, Mum, you remember when I asked you if we could go on the youth vacation this year?" He asked hesitantly. She nodded. "Well, can we go? 'Cause tomorrow's the last day to sign up." Kaetlin and I added our puppy eyes to give Shean's request more emphasis.

Their mother looked at us and sighed. Then she nodded. We all exchanged high fives. After saying thanks and signing up in the foyer, the three of us walked outside the church.

"So where are we going this, again," I asked. They had announced it weeks ago and I had forgotten.

"We're going to _Cali_," Kaet cheered, stretching out the 'a' in delight.

I grinned. "Oh, yeah ! I'd forgotten."

"We're all riding on the church bus's down to Cali pretty much non-stop except for food and restroom breaks," Shean added, sounding a little… un-ecstatic about several days in a bus with half the youth group having spit wads hitting him at all hours.

I groaned, but in truth, I didn't mind too much. I was used to longer trips than this, and in vehicles more uncomfortable than a bus and company worse than half the youth group (the other half was going in the other church bus). "So we have to bring a blanket and pillow, right?" I asked.

Shean nodded. "And don't forget your swimsuit!" He added, referring to an incident where I'd forgotten to bring a swimsuit to a friend's swim party.

I laughed. "Don't worry, I won't. And in celebration of a trip down the coast, I'll race you to the car," I called, taking off as I spoke.

Shean and Kaet ran after me laughing and calling, "No fair!"

The day finally came and we drove to the church early in the morning. We were a bit late and just barely managed to cram our stuff into the baggage compartment. Since some of the kids were bringing friends, both buses were almost full, except for the back seat of the second one, so we had to take that. It was more roomy, and I like the bumpiness, so I didn't mind.

The first day consisted of listening to CDs that people had brought, singin worship songs until the whole bus could sing every single one forwards, backwards, and sideways, and just talking. Actually, that's pretty much all we did during the _other_ days, too, so I won't describe them too.

The sleeping arrangements weren't too much fun, though, since we couldn't afford to stay at a hotel every night, so we slept on the road. Two adults took turns driving the bus so one could sleep during the day and the other could sleep at night so we always had a fresh driver. We didn't have it as bad as some of the kids since our back seat was longer than all the other ones, but we fell asleep while we were trying to bore each other to sleep, so at least we had blankets on us so we didn't freeze. But I woke up the second morning to find my head on Shean's shoulder. I started to get up, but I found Kaet's head on _my_ shoulder. Apparently we had all slipped towards the window and now I couldn't get up without waking up Kaetlin and that would be too… awkward.

So I waited for them to wake up and I was right: it _was_ awkward. Unfortunately, Shean woke up first and asked what I was doing. I didn't get up, but tried to point to Kaet. He gave a soft little groan and turned his head to stare out the window since his head was already pressed up against it. Lucky him. I only got to stare at the back of the seat until Kaet finally woke up and I could sit up.

We _finally_ got to the hotel we were all staying at and we all went to our rooms. Kaetlin and I were in a room with two other girls. We stayed up a _little_ too late watching movies and forgot to set our alarm clock and thus were about ten minutes late for breakfast. But that was apparently late enough to get teased, especially since some other teenage boys (whom we didn't know and didn't even talk to) came it at the same time as us.

"Hey, girls, did you find yourselves too good to come down to eat with the rest of us?" Called one of the boys, Jacky, a known teaser.

"Oh, no, no!" Cried one of his friends, who had obviously latched onto an even better reason. "I know why they were late! Their _boyfriends_ 'detained' them," he said suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows towards the unsuspecting boys who'd come in right behind us.

Most of the boys burst out laughing and I felt my face turning dark red, though I don't know if it was from anger, embarrassment, or both.

Then, to my complete and utter surprise, _Shean_ of all people spoke up for us!

"Oh, come off it, Jacky! Leave 'em alone."

The other boys puckered their lips like fish at Shean and shook their head like he was a little kid who'd said something funny or absurd, then went back to eating.

We girls got our food and sat down to eat in (relative) silence. (the other table were noisy, but we were quiet)

We ate quickly and went back to our room to change into our swimsuits. Once we were changed, we ran down to the lobby with our towels to wait with all the others who were assembled there waiting for our youth pastors to come down so we could go to the beach.

I found I was practically the only girl there who wasn't wearing a bikini, which was a little strange. Sam (our youth pastor) finally came down.

"Okay, kids, let's hit the waves!" He called and we all cheered and ran out the doors of the lobby to get to the water.

I plunged right in, having learned to swim in the lake at a nearby kingdom several years ago. I skimmed through the water and outdistanced most of the kids. Kaetlin and the rest of our friends jumped in and followed me with some beach toys.

Some of the boys had made it out deeper than me and when the girls reached me, the boys gave a battle yell and charged at us, slicing the water with the crawl stroke. They caught most of the other girls and threw them away from the shore, but I made it out farther before getting caught and instead of just getting thrown, I launched myself off my captor and flew farther than I thought I would. All of us girls started swimming away and pretty soon almost everyone else who could swim worth their salt was out there and it turned into a giant game of tag and toss.

I finally got tired and started swimming back for the shore to go back to my room and wash out my hair. I suddenly felt frozen in place and a vision danced before my eyes.

_My mother was walking on top of the water towards me while everyone else seemed to disappear. She walked over to me and sank into the water in front of me like she was on an elevator descending to my level. But she didn't appear to be treading the water like I was, it was more like she was standing on something._

"_Avalla," she breathed. "Avalla, my daughter. We will have need of you soon. When you come back in a year, we will be at war with a faraway kingdom. You must have items that will aid us in the war and/or a _list_ of items that can be obtained in this world that will aid us. _Please_, do _not_ fail me! _You_ will be the difference between victory and defeat. You may also bring one person along with you when you come back. _Be prepared_," she added with especial emphasis on the last two words._

_As she was speaking, my arms and legs had gradually slowed down and stopped holding me above the water. I felt a hand grab mine as I sank below the surface._

"_Think well who you will bring, for you may have to go on a long and possibly dangerous journey when you return. That is all I may tell you for now. Do not… forget," she added as she faded away._

Suddenly I was coughing and sputtering and strong arms were pulling my arm in a stroking motion and another hand suddenly grabbed my left one and started doing the same. I tried to kick and finally felt my feet touch sand. I tried to stagger to my feet, but fell to my knees on the beach, coughing and choking to get the water out of my mouth. I saw Shean's face appear in front of mine and he let go of my arm, which he had been using to pull me out of the deeper water.

"Val! Val, are you okay?" He asked, and I nodded as I coughed up the last of the water. He sat down and breathed a sigh as I collapsed backwards into the dry sand of the beach.

"Oh, good. For a minute there, when you went under, I thought you'd get down too far for us to get you. The lifeguard started to run in to get you until they saw that you weren't struggling much while Dave and I pulled you in."

"Hey, I was kicking back!" I said weakly, trying to put some humor into the situation. I saw Shean grin.

"Yeah, and my legs can prove it."

"Oops, sorry," I said. "Do you want me to kiss the boo-boo?"

He laughed. "Well, if you're joking, you're okay."

I sat up. "Oh, by the first egg of Faranth, now I've got sand in my hair!" For some reason, I now felt perfectly fine and I stood up and started back into the water so I could swim some more to get the sand out of my hair so I would only track water into the hotel. Shean jumped up and grabbed my arm, pulling me around to face him.

"Hey, do you really think you should go out there so soon after you almost drowned?" He asked in an almost worried voice.

"Yes, I'm _fine_," I said, punctuating my last word by pulling away my arm to prove it. I turned and saw some of the other kids who must have come in after Shean and Dave to see if I was all right heading back into the surf. I ran in and dived underwater. I still to this day don't know how I wasn't so exhausted that I couldn't walk, but I wasn't. One of the many mysteries of the world, I guess.

A/N: Do you think you know what happens next? Tell me! Since I write this freehand (no outline), I don't know what's going to happen next either. So if you think that so-and-so's going to do this, or this-and-such is going to happen, post it in your review or email me. There's a good enough chance I might put it into the story!


	13. Chapter Thirteen: Home Again At Last

Disclaimer: Formal letter to all reading this: Dear Readers, I did not write Ella Enchanted. I own Val, Shean, and just about everything except the things you recognize from Ella Enchanted. Yours Sincerely, Jaina Eowyn. (There, that wasn't another lame attempt at humor (I think). Go me!)

A/N: Just a quick note. In the rewrite, I'm going to be changing Val's sister's age to eight (_much_ more annoying than three, _trust_ me), so whenever she sees her from now on, she'll be eight. And she'll have a name (at some point, once I decide to stop being lazy and make one up, heehee).

Chapter Thirteen: Home Again At Last 

A little over a year had passed since we got back from the youth vacation (I was now eighteen) and I settled into my new life. I ended up getting a female border collie in July so that Keegan would have a friend. Well, actually it was mainly so that when I had two border collies that I could bring back with me to Kyrria when I had to leave later that year.

It was early September and I was in the backyard playing with Keegan and Cyd while waiting for Shean to get Éire ready to go to the park when I suddenly had one of those visions that I had had before.

_I saw my mother staring up at me._

"_Avalla," she said. She looked real, but for some reason, I could tell that she wasn't. "Avalla, we need you. Next month you will find the door again. Have everything ready. You will only have a few hours after you find the door to get back to it before it disappears forever and everything is lost. Please do not fail us."_

"_Mother!" I called, trying to run to her, but finding myself frozen once again. "Mother, wait! At least give me some advice on what and who to bring or something!"_

_She shook her head. "I cannot. Just - remember…" She murmured, and then abruptly disappeared._

I found myself lying on my back in the grass with three dogs licking me and Shean crouched next to me. I pushed the dogs off and sat up. Apparently Keegan and Cyd had knocked me over and started to lick me and then Shean and Éire had come out and gotten in on the action.

Shean grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet, a puzzled look on his face.

"What was that all about?" He asked in a confused tone.

I shook my head. "N-nothing. I just had a headache, I think."

"Do you usually freeze up and let the dogs knock you over when you get a headache?" Shean asked with a touch of teasing in his voice.

I shrugged, hoping he'd forget it. I knew I'd have to tell him about my visions soon, but not right now. I picked up my dogs' leashes from the ground and snapped them on their collars.

"Come on, let's go," I coaxed, walking towards the gate and opening it. Shean shrugged and followed me out. I think he had by now decided that I was just a normal weirdo and there wasn't anything he could do about it, so he had decided to just accept it.

We ran the dogs to the park and let them play with their other doggy friends while we sat down on a bench to watch them. We sat there for a while and after all conversation died off, I began to let my mind wander.

I wondered what my mother was doing. I knew she was probably still worried about me, although I hoped she wasn't grieving for me or anything. Then pictures came to my mind, like a vision, except that I didn't freeze up like I usually did and I knew I was probably just dead to the world.

_I saw my mother with my siblings. She was holding my baby brother (who now looked to be at least six months old, maybe nine months, although I don't know how that could be since it had been two years or so since I'd seen him as a newborn) in her lap and playing a card game with Éralla. She had a smile on her face, but it wasn't a laughing smile. It was more of an obliging smile, like she was smiling because Éralla expected her to, but she was trying to think more than smile._

_I saw my father pacing in his garden with one of his advisors, rubbing his chin and obviously contemplating something. He looked very troubled and I knew the war was probably going to start soon. I made up my mind to finish up with my plans for what I was bringing within the week._

Suddenly I heard a thought. _No, please, not again! Val! Please don't do this to me! I need you to stay with me! Please come back!_ I somehow knew that it was Shean's thought and the next thing I knew, I saw a hand waving in front of my face and heard Shean's voice saying 'He-lloooo! Earth to Avalla!" in a singsong voice.

I shook my head. My eyes had been staring straight ahead and I was still sitting in the same position I had been before the visions.

Shean sat back farther into the bench and folded his arms across his chest. "What were you thinking about?" He asked in an almost sarcastic voice. "A _boyfriend_?" Yes, definitely sarcastic. I sat up straight and glared at him.

"No! You know perfectly well that I don't have a boyfriend!"

He looked almost genuinely surprised. "Then what do you do when you go out at nights by yourself?"

I rolled my eyes. "I go for a _walk_, you _numbskull_!"

His eyebrows raised slightly and he nodded wisely. "Ah, yes. With your boyfriend."

I made as if to strangle him. "I. Do. Not. Have. A. Boyfriend!" I hissed. Then I had an idea to tease him back with. I sat back in the bench and folded my own arms. "Why? _Jealous_ or something?"

His eyes darted around, then settled firmly back on my now smug face. "Or something," he said. I rolled my eyes. This was fun! We were both pretty good actors, so we could play this back and forth.

"How about when you go to the movies with your _girlfriend_?" I asked. I knew I had him here. Whenever he went to the movies with the other guys and their girlfriends, there was always an extra girl in the car and she always motioned for Shean to hurry up. It _had_ to be _his_ girlfriend.

He looked very genuinely surprised and answered very intelligently. "Huh?"

I raised an eyebrow. "You know, the extra girl in the car when you go to the movies with the guys?"

He laughed, looking relieved. "Jackie? She's one of the other girls' friends that always comes along."

I nodded sagely. "Uh, huh." Shoot, there went one weapon. But teasing was too much fun to drop so soon. I searched around for something else to use, but just then, the dogs came running over and Jaime (Keegan's mum, in case you forgot) and her owner, Sair came running over.

Sair panted, grinning. "Hey! I saw these guys and they came running over here and Jaime came with them, so I guess I did, too! How've you been?"

I pushed Shean farther over to the side on the bench and motioned Sair to sit down next to me. She did.

"Well, we've been fine," I said in reply to her question. "You?"

Sair grinned. "Jaime just won another title in both agility and flyball. Our flyball team is pretty good, and this year has been one of our best. We're so proud of her!" She ruffled the dog's thick black and white furred head.

Quickly, before I could decide against it, I swallowed and started talking. "Um, Sair, this might be one of the last times I see you."

Both she and Shean stared at me and went, "Huh?"

I steeled myself and continued. "I'm going to be going away soon and I don't know when, so I don't know when the last time I see you will be, so I wanted to say goodbye now." I looked up from my lap to see her reaction.

She and Shean were both still staring at me, slack jawed.

"Um, okay," Sair finally said. Then she opened her arms for a hug. "Just in case," she whispered for my ears only, although I didn't know if she really believed me.

"Hey, what about me?" Shean asked, but I ignored him since I knew he was just kidding around.

I sighed inwardly. I knew I was going to have to explain this to Shean, especially since it might involve him. But I'd have to convince him that it was better not to tell his mum about it, and that might be harder than it sounds.

I looked down at my watch. "Oh, we better get home or Sylva'll worry about us."

Shean nodded and stood up, calling Éire to him. I did the same and we clipped our leashes onto our dogs and waved goodbye to Sair and Jaime as we left the park.

"What was _that_ all about?" Shean asked when we were out of earshot. I waved my free hand at him.

"I'll tell you later."

"When?" He prompted.

"I don't know! Maybe tomorrow or something."

"No, I want to know what this is about."

I looked heavenward like I was looking for help. "Look, I'll meet you in the tree house tomorrow at four. _Just you_," I added to make sure he didn't bring anyone else. He was known for doing that sort of thing.

He nodded reluctantly. "Fine. Tomorrow, the tree house, at four."

The next day, I got home from school and prepared for the confrontation. This wasn't going to be fun.

I arrived in the tree house first and waited for about five minutes for Shean to get there. When he finally did, he found me sitting in one of the folding chairs and he took one of the others.

"So, what's this about leaving us soon?" He asked, folding his arms over his chest and leaning the chair back against the wall with its two front feet off the floor. I could tell that he was rather agitated and annoyed that I hadn't told him about this. I sighed and looked down at my lap where I was twiddling my thumbs.

I took a deep breath and looked back up at him. "Okay, remember when I first got here and I told you I was a princess?" He nodded. "It really is true." He didn't look as surprised as I'd expected him to be and just raised an eyebrow slightly. I started to get annoyed. "I'll tell you the whole story, from the beginning.

"It was just a little bit after my fifteenth birthday and I was travelling to a neighboring village to meet a stuck-up prince whom my parents were probably hoping I'd fall in love with and be willing to marry." I stuck my tongue out and Shean's chair hit the floor with a bang as he covered his laughter with a hand at the idea of me falling in love with a stuck-up neighboring prince when I was only fifteen. I just rolled my eyes.

"Anyways, as you seem to find that so funny, I had no intention of doing so, as I'd already met the twit and he was worse than Tourney is." Now his eyebrows jumped and he laughed even harder. Tourney and I had had an ongoing rivalry ever since we'd met, both of us being quite competitive and all.

"Well, we had stopped for lunch the second day and I'd spied something farther away in the field, so I ran to investigate. It turned out to be a door set in a doorframe, just sitting in the middle of a big abandoned field. It appeared to be just a regular door, and I could see straight through when I pushed it open. But I found a strange rhyme that had the word 'key' in it and when I looked at that word again after reading the rhyme, there was an actual _key_ in the door frame instead of the word 'key'. I took the key out, unlocked the door, and after writing a note to my mother, went back, and stepped through and I found myself falling. And next thing I knew, I was in your backyard and you and Kaet were standing over me and you know the rest."

Shean looked thoughtful. "So, that's why you were in that crazy medieval or whatever type dress when we found you." I nodded. "And also why you were in such a strange position like you'd fallen from something," he added with a touch of levity. I nodded again. "Say, what happened to the key?" He asked.

I reached into my pocket and produced it. "I stuck it in my pocket when I went back to write the note to my mother." I handed it to Shean who turned it over and examined it.

"Huh, just a plain, boring, ordinary key," he commented. I nodded and he handed it back.

"So d-do you believe me?" I asked with a slight stammer. Shean appeared to be considering for a moment, staring at the ceiling and fingering his chin. Then he looked back down to me and nodded firmly. I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Oh, good, because now… I have a very difficult question to ask you."

He cocked his head and leaned forwards slightly. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Opening them, I quickly spoke.

"Shean, will you come back with me?"

He sat back in surprise.

"What?"

I nodded. "Will you come back to Kyrria, my kingdom, with me? I need to bring someone else and I can't think of anyone I'd rather have with me where I'm going to have to go."

He swallowed. "Val, that's… quite some question. How would I explain it to Mum?" My brows creased and I stared at my feet in concentration. I'd forgotten about that aspect.

"Um… You could say that you got a job somewhere else or… something," I stumbled. He raised one eyebrow.

"Uh huh. I'm _sure_ that'll work," he said sarcastically. "How about if I just tell her that you need me to come back with you to your home, and that your parents have called you back. Is that close enough to the truth?" I looked up and nodded eagerly.

"Does that mean you'll come?" I asked. He nodded and I gave him a quick hug, beaming.

"Oh, _thank_ you, Shean! You'll never regret it! I think."

He laughed. "I hope not!" Then he became serious. "Especially because I don't know if I'll ever see my family again."

I bit my lip. "I know. Y-you don't _have_ to come!" I quickly added, hoping he wouldn't take me at my word. I needed him to come with me. I didn't know anyone else who would suit the purpose.

He smiled softly, but somewhat regretfully. "No, I think I'd regret it more if I didn't come. Besides, I'll probably have a new family there eventually, don't you think?" I nodded, hoping I wouldn't be wrong. "And maybe… maybe I'll be able to come back – somehow."

"What do ya think Mum'll say about all this?" I asked, referring to Sylva.

Shean sighed. "I'm eighteen and I'd be moving out soon anyways, since we finished high school early. And she'll still have Kaet."

"Oh, by the way, Shean, do you think you could help me make a list of things that might be helpful in a war?"

He looked alarmed. "Why, is there a war in your country?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. But in one of my visions, my mother told me to make up a list of things that might help in a war."

Shean nodded, then did a double take. "Sur- wait, _what_ visions?"

I sighed. I'd forgotten to tell him. "You know when I would freeze up all of a sudden, with no warning?" He nodded.

"Like at the beach at that one youth vacation and when we were going to go walk the dogs yesterday?" I nodded.

"Well, when that happened, I was having a vision. I don't know why I froze up, but that seemed to go with it. So will you help me with the list?"

Shean shrugged as if giving over to the inevitable. "Sure. In fact, since I'll bet you don't know all that much about modern warfare –" he grinned as I glared at him, "I can make up the whole list if you'd like." I rolled my eyes but nodded. "Say, do you know exactly what you might be up against? If you go to war, of course."

I shrugged. "Just medieval type weapons. Probably more hand-to-hand stuff like swords, and long range stuff like spears and archers. Don't get anything very high-tech, just simple stuff like guns," I added as a cautionary measure, not sure exactly how much change we'd be able to handle in Kyrria.

Shean nodded. "Okay, I'll work on the list. Now all we have to do is convince Mum to let me go."

I nodded, inwardly quavering.

We found Sylva in the kitchen making dinner.

"Um, Mum, can we talk?" Shean asked haltingly. She looked up from where she was chopping up vegetables.

"Sure. What did you want to talk about, Shean?"

"Well, um, it was something we _both_ wanted to talk to you about," he said awkwardly, gesturing to me. Sylva raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? And what might that be?" She suddenly almost looked sly, like she knew something we didn't

"Well, you see…" Shean began, and I cut in.

"I've just gotten word from my parents that I'm needed back at home and they asked if I could bring Shean along with me," I said, hoping that it came out right.

Sylva nodded slowly as if she understood, but obviously didn't. "I see. And how long will you be gone?"

Shean fiddled with his shirt hem. "Well, see, that's the problem. We have to go back there permanently. And I'm… not sure for certain if I'll be able to come back."

Sylva stared at us, slack-jawed. She looked like she might cry. Finally, she took a deep breath and spoke. I could now definitely see tears shining in her eyes. "Well, you're eighteen now, and, knowing you, once you've made up your mind, there's nothing I can do to change it. But I want you to know that if you follow through, everyone is going to miss you a _lot_."

Shean reached down and gave her a hug. (he'd grown since I'd met him and was now about six foot two or something like that. I was still just five foot three) "It's okay, Mum," he said as tears started to slip from Sylva's eyes. "Besides, you know we were going to be moving out soon anyways since we graduated early." She nodded, but didn't look happy.

"But what if you get married and have kids and I never get to see them?" She cried. Shean looked up at me with pleading eyes and I shrugged helplessly, but came over to help.

"You'll still have Kaet and you _know_ that she'll give you as many grandkids as you want," I said soothingly, hoping this would help. We had to stand there for a few more minutes before Sylva calmed down and let Shean go. He fiddled his thumbs.

"Um, do you think you might possibly be able to tell Dad?" He asked Sylva awkwardly. She nodded and sighed.

"Sure. I don't know what he'll say, but I'll tell him."

We both breathed a sigh of relief as Sylva walked out of the kitchen looking like she was in a daze, leaving us to sit and think and talk.

A/N: **PLEASE READ THIS**: Okay, I need to know if Shean accepted Val's request too easily. I'm thinking of changing it in the rewrite so that he tells Val he needs to think about it and we have the acceptance and the conversation that follows a few days later when they meet up in the tree house again. I just did it this way so that I could get on with the action part of the story sooner. The rest will be faster paced. I hope.

Also, if anyone would like to be a Beta Reader for any of my fan fics, I could sure use one (or more!). Email me and put 'PLEASE FORWARD TO JAINA EOWYN' in the subject. If it doesn't get through, say something about it in a review. hint, hint And if you have any fan fics in similar genres to the ones I'm writing in (like Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Ella Enchanted, etc.), I can Beta Read in exchange, or I can just Beta Read for you for the fun of it. Just no Harry Potter ones, please. Thanks to all and Merry Christmas! (And to any who read this after Christmas, Happy… whatever holiday happens to be closest)


	14. Chapter Fourteen: ‘Chats’

Disclaimer: Trying to think of a witty disclaimer… Can't. Think. Right. Now. Well, by now you should know that I didn't write Ella Enchanted, so I won't say it again.

Chapter Fourteen: 'Chats' 

Shean and I sat at the dining room table in silence for a few minutes, wrapped in our own thoughts.

"So, when are we leaving, again?" Shean asked.

"Whenever we see a door someplace we wouldn't expect it. So we should probably be ready to go whenever we see it, because my mother said we'll only have a few hours after we see it to get to it. When do you think you'll be able to have a list ready?"

Shean shrugged. "I can have it by whenever you need it. It should be pretty simple if you just want shotguns and that sort of things." I nodded. "Not even one little tiny grenade?" Shean suddenly asked in a mockingly pleading tone. I smiled and shook my head, knowing that he would be repeating this repeatedly until we left, just to see if it got on my nerves. After living with him for three years, I was wondering if half of his whole mission in life was to tease me and the other half to torment Kaet. Well, no, that wasn't fair. Maybe that should be one-third to tease me, and one-third to torment Kaet, because he had to have another one-third devoted to something else. (Though I couldn't think of what it would be)

Just then the three dogs came running in with their leashes in their mouths, begging to be walked. I stood up and clipped my double leash to my border collies.

"Come on, we'd better take 'em to The Field," I said as I walked towards the garage. The Field was a big abandoned field that dog owners who were 'in the know' would take their dogs to play in. The dogs liked to run around in the tall grass and chase bugs and stuff. Every once in a while, you'd run into another owner and their dog, but usually it was just you and your dog (or dogs in our case). If the dogs had good recall (ours had perfect recall), you could let them run off on their own. It was down an long dirt road that no one went down unless they were going to The Field, so there wasn't even much of a chance of them getting hit by a car while off leash.

We all piled into our car, the dogs buckled into doggy seat belts in the back seat, Shean driving, and me in the passenger's seat up front. Shean bombarded me with questions the whole way there and back. When we got back home, though, I found that Kaet had a surprise for me.

"Val!" She cried in her high cheerleader-type voice. "Guess what!" She continued, gushing. "When Mum told me that you and Shean are going to be leaving sometime soon, I got a bunch of the girls together and they're going to come over tonight for a going away sleepover!" I stared at her with stunned silence, so she continued. "It's going to be so much fun! We can chat and do each other's hair and put on makeup and stuff all night!" By now Shean was staring at her, too. "And the dogs can sleep in Shean's room with him and Éire so that they don't get in our way and – "

Here I cut her off, holding up my hands and waving them. "Okay, wait, wait! I can deal with a sleepover. I am willing to 'chat' and let you do my hair. I am _not_ willing to be slathered with makeup or send my dogs into Shean's room for the night any more than you'd be willing to put Patches in Mum and Dad's room for the night."

Kaetlin shrugged as if to say 'whatever' and continued jabbering about how much fun this would be and all of the fun things we'd do, while Shean and I continued walking to his room to give the dogs their after-romp grooming.

Later that day the girls started arriving. I'd known them all for at least a year, many of them I'd met soon after I arrived here, but it was amazing how much a lot of them had changed since I'd met them. Kaet was now a peppy, makeup-oriented, popular cheerleader at sixteen. About half of the girls she had invited were her own friends (they sort my friends too, but more hers) and a lot like her. The other half were my friends and a bit more like me: very personable, sort of outcasts at school, with tight friendships rather than cliques where you'd be kicked out if you looked at someone the wrong way. Many of my friends did, however, like makeup (just not as much as Kaet and her friends), so they had fun when everyone did makeovers for each other. That was one thing I refused to get in on because I'm not a makeup person and plus, my dogs (whom I had firmly informed Kaet were to be let to stay with us) would lick it off immediately.

I let them play with my hair, though, and ended up looking half-decent for once. In fact, when I went downstairs to get more potato chips, Shean was sitting at the kitchen table reading a book and looked up as I started opening up cupboards to find where Kaet had stashed the chips, my back half turned to him.

"Hey, Kaet, can I have – " He started, and then stopped as I turned around, trying to smother a laugh. He looked surprised. "Oh, sorry, Val, you looked so prett – um, _different_ that I thought you were Kaet for a moment." I laughed.

"Hey, no prob. I was just getting some chips," I added, triumphantly holding up the bag I had finally found to illustrate my point. "Want some?" He shrugged.

"Sure."

"'K, I'll get a bowl. Just a sec." I grabbed a bowl and poured him some chips.

"Thanks," he said as I handed him the bowl and gave me a quick grin.

"What're ya reading?" I asked, trying to get a glance at the cover of his book. He held it up so I could see it.

"Dark Journey."

My eyes lit up. "Ooh, Jaina! Wicked! Let me read it again when you're done!" I begged. He nodded, grinning.

"Sure thing, Miss Solo." I gave his head a playful thwack.

I was always pretending to be Jaina Solo, daughter of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo: Jedi, fighter pilot, and mechanic extraordinaire. (My special introduction for Jaina) Whenever I saw Harrison Ford or Carrie Fisher's pictures or Han or Leia's, I would say 'Hi, Mom!' (or Dad if that was the case). I got plenty of confused stares for that, but anyone who knew me would just grin or laugh. When we would read one of the Star Wars books, I would read Jaina's lines if she was in the book (and/or Tahiri's if she happened to be in it too), and Shean would read whichever boy happened to be in the same chapter, whether it be Jacen, Anakin, Jag or Kyp (whom neither of us can stand). It was a lot of fun, and we'd tease each other a lot about it, calling each other 'Mr. Solo' or 'Mr. Fel' or whatever character he was, or 'Miss Solo'. If Shean were in a really playful mood (or wanted to get on my nerves), he'd call me 'Jaina Solo Fel'. I loved the name, but the way he said it ticked me off.

"Thank you, Colonel Fel. Well, I'm going back to my awaiting squadron," I said, referring to the time when Jaina commanded Twin Suns squadron. Shean made a play-bow.

"As you wish, Goddess." I gave him another good-natured thwack on the head and went back upstairs.

"Where were you?" Kaet asked as I came back in the door.

"I was getting chips, like I said!" I replied, a bit too defensively.

"You sure took your time doing it," Kaet said with a sly little smile.

"Well, you hid them pretty well and then Shean wanted some."

Her smile got a fraction larger, but she just said, "Well, we started a game of Truth or Dare and it's your turn."

"Um, okay, Truth," I said.

The other girls exchanged evil little smirks and I started to regret my choice.

"All right," Kaet said with a tone in her voice that put me on my guard. She looked like she had been anticipating asking me this for a long time. "Have you ever been kissed?"

I stared at her. "You – you – you –" I sputtered, "you've been _planning_ this!" Kaet grinned and nodded.

"Well?"

I searched for a way out, and then grinned. "Yes."

Kaet stared at me, shocked. "What?" She asked, looking like she didn't believe me. "No way."

I nodded. "Yes, I have."

"By a _boy_?" Asked Marcella, one of my friends, knowing that I thought most boys were total weirdoes.

I nodded and everyone stared at me.

"How many times?" Kaet asked.

"Um…" I started to try to count on my fingers, but failed. I shrugged. "I dunno. A lot, though. At least once every day."

"On the _lips_?" Kaetlin asked incredulously.

I nodded. "Like I said, at _least_ once a day."

"How come you've never told me?!" Kaet squealed.

"Actually, I can show you now if you want." Kaet nodded vigorously. "Keegy! Kisses!" Keegan came bounding over and started slathering my face with big, sloppy, wet doggy kisses, getting my lips, as well as my nose, eyes, and just about everywhere else. Kaetlin's face fell.

"Your _dog_?" She asked in disappointment. I still couldn't see what her problem was. Though she _was_ a romance nut, so that was probably why.

I nodded, pushing Keegan off of me and sending him to go back and play tug with Cyd. "What's wrong with that."

"Oh, um, nothing – nothing," she quickly replied.

When it came back to my turn, I figured it was safer to take a Dare. Maybe that was ridiculously stupid, seeing how my Truth was, but I didn't think of that because I was laughing so hard over the last girl's turn.

"Val, Truth or Dare?" Kaet suddenly asked.

"Dare," I replied, still laughing. Kaetlin started whispering with a couple of the other girls and got a devious look on her face which immediately cut my laughter short.

"Go give Shean a kiss," she instructed, looking utterly evil.

I stared at her, and then laughed. "You're _joking_, right?" I asked, hoping against hope that she was. She wasn't. I sighed. "Fine."

I got up and started walking towards the door and the other girls at once started whispering again. I walked down to the kitchen, dreading what I knew I should have refused to do, but there were too many of them and they'd tickle me awfully hard if I didn't (they'd already done it to one of the other girls). Then I had an idea which pulled me back from despair.

I walked into the kitchen, opened a drawer and pulled something out, and then walked over to Shean, who was still reading Dark Journey.

"Hey, Shean, close your eyes and pucker up," I instructed. He did so reluctantly and slowly, his brow furrowed. "Here's a Kiss," I said as I popped a Hershey Kiss into his mouth and went back upstairs.

"Did you do it?" Kaetlin asked eagerly. I nodded. Just then, there was a knock at the door and Shean's voice came through.

"Can I come in for a moment?" Kaet and her friends giggled and I called, "Sure, come on in!" I wasn't sure what he was going to do, but I knew it'd be worth it.

He took one step into the room, said, "Hey, Val, here's a Kiss and a Hug," tossed me two somethings and left. Everyone else was staring at me as I took the wrappers off the Hershey's Kiss and Hug candies and ate them.

"What was _that_ all about?" Kaetlin asked.

"Oh, Shean was just returning the favor," I said calmly, chewing on the Kiss.

She stared at me a moment, then her eyes widened. "You gave him a _chocolate_ Kiss!" She cried. I grinned and nodded.

Kaetlin grabbed a pillow and started pummeling me, so I grabbed one, too and tried to pummel her, but she ducked and I hit Jenny, which started a _huge_ pillow fight. Shean came up to see what all the ruckus was about and got hit, so he grabbed his pillow from his own room and got in on the action. We all ended up on the floor, panting and laughing. Then Kaetlin noticed Shean and shoved him out, crying, "Get out, traitor!" We all just laughed, though we had no idea what she meant.

The rest of the night was rather uneventful, except for when Cyd crept out of bed to go see Éire and I had to go bring her back, because otherwise she got in Shean's bed, where she wasn't allowed to be. I ended up waking up Shean by accident and he jumped on me, thinking I was Kaet coming in to play a joke on him, so I found myself on the ground with Shean on his knees next to me and holding down my shoulders with his hands, glaring down at me. But he let me up when he realized what I was doing since Cyd decided to come over and pounce on my face at that moment. It was rather funny, I have to admit.

But other than that, the night was rather uneventful.

A/N: Okay, I now have a pretty decent loose plot, but I still would like input on what you think the characters will do in the next chapter, etc. if you have any and how you think the story is developing. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far; you keep me inspired to write! Please review, I _really _need to know how you think the characters are developing because otherwise I'm going to be kind of hung up for some of the coming chapters and I might have to pause in writing them until I get some feedback. Thanks!!

A/N2: Thanks for all the reviews, guys! It makes me feel so good! Thank you to my new reviewer, fineflyer, as well. Yes, I agree that she got 'into Earth' too easily, but everyone seemed to not want to spend as much time in Earth as back at Kyrria (I agree, since that's where most of the action will happen, and most of the gags are on Earth), but that's something I'm going to fix when I revise. By the way, any suggestions for the revision are welcome. And I'd **_REALLY _**like some input on how the characters are developing. Thanks. And I am SOOOOOOO sorry that Val doesn't get back to Kyrria in this chapter, but it was too funny to pass up and she goes back in the next chapter, which I have written and will hopefully update in a few days. (maybe after a few reviews? hint, hint I won't hold the story hostage for reviews, though, or hold my breath, either, heehee.)

And for those who aren't registered on , but would like notification when I update, you can add a little note in you review and your email and I will email you when I update. Or you can email me, but don't forget to tell me you emailed me in your review. Thanks! I love you guys!


	15. Chapter Fifteen: Here We Go Again

Disclaimer: Okay, by now I am completely fed up with disclaimers, as I'm sure that anyone who writes fan fiction and posts it and has to write disclaimers are also. So I'm not going to write them anymore. If you've read this story this far, you _know_ that I didn't write Ella Enchanted (**_DUH!!!!!_**) so I don't think I need disclaimers anymore. So I just won't write them from now on. WHOOPEEEEEEEE!

**Chapter Fifteen: Here We Go Again**

I had made Shean pack a bag and have it ready to go anytime. I had not only gotten together all of my stuff, but also my dogs' stuff. When Shean found out I was bringing them, he decided to bring Éire too. We did have Golden Retriever-type dogs in Kyrria that we used while hunting, though she was spayed, so she couldn't have puppies anyways. Keegan wasn't neutered, and neither was Cyd, but that was because we didn't have border collies in Kyrria, so I wanted to breed them.

Now we brought all of our bags along with us whenever we went somewhere so that we weren't rushing at the last minute to get to wherever the door would be.

It was early October and we were playing with the dogs in The Field when I spotted something a ways away and ran over to investigate. My eyes widened when I saw what it was.

"Shean! _Shean! **Shean!**_" I all but screamed as I came running back and bowled into Shean, who popped up from where he'd been crouched over in the tall grass playing with the dogs. He caught me as he stood up and waited till I calmed down.

"Shean! The door!" I panted, feeling the need to tell him as soon as I could. He stared at me.

"What are you babbling about?"

"The door! I saw it! It's out there, in the field!" I pointed and his gaze followed my finger. His arms dropped back to his sides as he jogged easily over to look for himself. He came back considerably faster.

"Come on!" He cried, grabbing my arm and pulling me towards the car. "I'll call Mum on my cell and tell her where the car is so she can pick it up, and you grab all of our stuff!" I was half glad I wasn't the only one who was half-hysterical. Shean started dialing and quickly gabbled out some explanation, then hung up and grabbed his (and his dogs) belongings and we ran back to the door.

Luckily, it was still there (of course, we had only spent about five or ten minutes getting everything ready, so of _course_ it was still there), and we ran to the side with the knob. I took out my key and fitted it in. I unlocked it and slipped the key back into my pocket, figuring I'd just hang it on a ribbon around my neck as a souvenir. I pushed the door open and we could see tall grass on the other side. Shean turned to me, dropping his bags.

"_This_ is your door?" He asked, half incredulous. I nodded.

"Remember," I cautioned, holding up a warning finger, "I said that the last door looked the same way. Pick up your bags again and get ready to toss them to one side and cling to your fellow beings for dear life."

He sighed, but complied. We called the dogs, took a hold of their collars as best we could while still keeping a light grip on our bags, then stepped through the door.

A/N: Okay, I now have a pretty decent loose plot, but I still would like input on what you think the characters will do in the next chapter, etc. and how you think the story is developing. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far; you keep me inspired to write!

A/N2: Squee! I LOVE you guys! Three reviews in ONE day! And just for that, I'm updating early! I'm up to (starting) Chapter Nineteen, but I want to have chapters to fall back on if I get writer's block so I won't be sitting there going, 'I have writer's block, so I can't update because I already posted my last chapter' and making you guys wait for two weeks. Aren't I good to you, heehee? Anyways, I'll update next week, probably, just so I have enough time to write another chapter.

Sorry this was so short. Once again, thanks to everyone who reviewed. And if you know anyone who might like the story, don't forget to tell them about it, heehee. (yes, shameless bribery. Sort of)

Sigh. All right, due to popular demand, I guess I'll let Shean and Val kiss (though you'll probably have to wait for Chapter Eighteen. Hey, only three more chapters to wait, heehee! I'll try to update every few days, hopefully whenever I finish a new chapter so that I'll always have something that I can update with). But just so you know, I have never kissed any boys (except for my neighbor's dog), so the romantic stuff in this story will be based solely on what I have been forced to read in all the fantasy/sci-fi books I've read (i.e. Star Wars, Dragonriders of Pern, etc.), so it may seem kind of lame, hehe. But I'll try. So if anyone wants to beta-read, I'd be more than happy to have you. Just email me and tell me you emailed me in your review so I know to look for it. Thanks!

And no fear: I won't abandon this story. I'm very serious about finishing it, and with all the great reviews everyone has given me, it's more than easy to find the inspiration to continue. Keep reviewing! (and if anyone would like to beta-read for this or any of my other stories, email me and then post that you emailed me in your review) Love you all!


	16. Chapter Sixteen: Family Reunion

**Chapter Sixteen: Family Reunion**

This time, though I still couldn't hear, I _could_ feel things and see things other than swirling colors and lights. Shean and I had dropped our bags immediately to the side so we wouldn't land on them and were clinging to each other with the dogs huddled up in the circle our arms made as well as they could.

We hit the ground, the dogs ending up at our feet and us half on our sides, half on our backs, still clutching each other's arms, our faces centimeters apart. I heard Shean's breath being released simultaneously with mine and realized we'd both been holding it. We both rolled onto our backs and stared up at the sky until dog faces (and tongues) invaded our view of the boring clouds.

I slowly pushed myself up to a sitting position, groaning. Shean did the same.

"Ow!" He moaned. "Is this what you went through before?"

I nodded. "Except that I didn't have any bags to drop, dogs to lick me to death, or friends to cling to."

He laughed. "Yeah, that might make a difference. So, where are we?"

I stood up and looked around. "I'd say that we're in the field where I found the first door. There's a road in that direction," I pointed, "and if we follow it to the left, we'll come to my home. Eventually."

"How long'll it take?" Shean asked apprehensively.

"Probably two or three days by foot, unless we can hitch a ride with a farmer or someone who's bringing things to the capital city for market day. If I'm right about what day it is, that will be in a day or two." Shean sighed.

"Okay, then let's go."

I started to pick up my bags, and then stopped. "You know, even with the dogs carrying their things in their packs," – we had gotten the bags that you put on dogs when you go hiking or whatever – "We still have to carry our backpacks and bags, so we might go slower." Shean groaned.

"I forgot about that. Well, let's get going, then." And with that, he slung his backpack on and grabbed his bag and I did the same and we set off, the dogs trotting alongside on their leashes.

That night, we came to an inn where we decided to spend the night. We went inside and walked to the counter where the innkeeper was standing, looking at his books.

"Excuse me," I said, "we're looking to get a room for the night."

The innkeeper looked up and smiled broadly. "Ah, good. We have several rooms open. Would you like a first or second floor room?"

I looked at Shean. He shrugged. "Um, second floor, I guess."

The innkeeper smiled again. "Ah, good choice. I even have one with a balcony."

I nodded. "We'll take that one."

"Val, I don't have any money!" Shean hissed in my ear. I put a hand on his arm.

"Don't worry, I still have my money purse," I hissed back. I reached down and drew it out, counting out two silver coins. "Is this right?" I asked, handing the innkeeper the money. He nodded.

"Dall!" He yelled, and a boy of about ten came running over.

"Yes sir?" He asked.

"Take these people to their room." He handed the boy a slip of paper and the boy nodded, motioning us to follow him.

We trailed after him up the stairs to the second floor and to a nice little room with a balcony, as the innkeeper had promised.

"Here's your room, ma'am, sir," the boy, Dall said, still waiting by the door while we gratefully set our bags down. I wondered why he was still standing there, and then it clicked... his tip! I handed him a small copper and he trotted away happily.

Shean flopped onto one of the beds. "Ah, this is nice. I was almost afraid we'd have to spend the night on the ground!" He added, laughing.

I collapsed onto my own bed. "Well, luckily, you won't have to endure that. Hey, look outside."

The doors to the balcony were open and the drapes pulled back, and we could see the sun starting to set in a brilliant blaze of changing colors.

I got up to close the door while Shean walked outside onto the balcony and leaned on the rail. I joined him.

"Isn't it beautiful?" I asked. He nodded.

"I never really usually watch sunsets," he commented.

"I used to watch them almost every evening with my mother. When I was a baby, she'd take me out to watch them, and it kind of became a family thing. I wonder what they'll think of me now…" I looked down at myself and smiled sadly. "I sure don't look much like I used to," I added with a little laugh, looking at my t-shirt and zip-off jeans.

Shean looked at me. "Well, you sure don't look the same as when Kaet and I found you, but I think they'll love you just the same," he said quietly, smiling gently.

I shrugged. "I dunno. Do you think I should get a dress like the one I was in when you guys found me?"

"No, I like you better like th – I mean, dresses just aren't you," he amended quickly. I gave him an odd glance, but didn't say anything.

We sat in companionable silence for some time just watching the sun set.

Then Shean started to lean over to railing to try to see farther or something stupid like that. I grabbed him and pulled him back as he started to lean too far out over the railing.

"Shean, don't!" I cried as I pulled him back so he wouldn't fall over. I found myself standing in front of Shean (whose feet were, thankfully, now safely back on the ground) with him staring back at me in surprise.

"Um, Val…?" He finally said. I glanced down.

"Oh!" I quickly dropped my hand back to my side. "Um…" I muttered awkwardly.

"Come on, let's just watch the last bit of the sunset," Shean said softly, gently taking my arm and turning us back to the railing to face the setting sun.

Except that he didn't let go of my arm. I decided not to say anything and let his hand rest easily on my arm as we stood in silence again.

Suddenly the dogs, having more than thoroughly investigated the room, decided that it was time to join us and hopped up on their hind legs to stick their front paws up on the rail for pets and kisses. We both laughed and gave them all their scratches and pets, then took them to bed.

Shean and I crawled into our beds and the dogs settled onto the floor between the beds.

"G' night," I called to Shean as I blew out the light on my bed stand.

"'Night," he murmured back, blowing out his own light.

The next morning we got to borrow a pair of horses and a couple of small sulkies for the dogs and bags from the innkeeper with the promise to return them when we got to our destination.

We made pretty decent time to the capital and when we got to the palace, I dismounted, walked to the big gate that was set in the wall surrounding the palace and knocked. The gatekeeper opened his peephole and peered out at me.

"An' oo might you be?" He asked suspiciously. I decided to risk it all.

"Princess Avalla Shirra Fealla Charlla, daughter of Queen Ella and King Charmont. I've returned."

I heard Shean's thought. _Well, that was stupid. I'm _sure_ he's going to believe that!_

I shot him a glance, then turned back to the gatekeeper who stared at me incredulously for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"Ha ha ha!" He chortled, "_that's_ a good one! _That's _one I certainly haven't heard before! You _really_ expec' me to believe that bluffer, young lady? _Everyone_ knows that Princess Avalla dissapeared three years ago and there 'asn't been hide nor 'air of her since. I very highly doubt you're her."

I glared at him, hoping this would work. "Then call for the queen and king and ask them to identify me," I commanded. He just raised an eyebrow.

"By oo's order?"

"Mine," I said firmly in what I termed my 'Princess voice'. He sighed and stepped away from the gate.

"Derry! There's a little lady here who thinks she's the princess!" He called, laughing. I heard footsteps on stone and another man appeared, this one with the badge insignia on his shoulder of the head guard. He peered out at me.

"Mm, you look familiar somehow. What can I do for you?"

"I would like to have the king and queen come and identify me," I replied, hoping Derry would oblige me. I knew I didn't _quite_ look the same, but he had been head guard when I still lived in the palace, so I hoped he'd trust his rememberance of me and get Mom and Dad to come down.

Derry sighed. "All right, but I don't think it'll do any good," he said and walked off. _Still, there is something familiar about her…_ I heard him think.

Derry soon returned with Mom and Dad and the gatekeeper let the three guards that had come with them out through his little door in the gates, followed by my parents. My mother took one look at me and engulfed me in a big hug, crying, "Avalla! Oh, my precious daughter! I thought we'd never see you again! Oh!"

She continued sobbing as my father got in on the moment, too. I hugged them back hard and kept my own tears back with an effort. Shean sat politely on his horse, waiting to be introduced once we were done. The dogs were still waiting in the sulkies since we'd given them the 'stay' command.

They finally let me go and I ran over and grabbed Shean's hand, gently half-pulling him off his horse and led him over to my parents.

"Mother, Father," I said, remembering not to call them Mom and Dad until I'd explained what it meant, "this is my best friend, Shean. Shean, this is my mother, Queen Ella, and this is my father, King Charmont."

"Call me Char," my dad said, holding out his hand and smiling at Shean. "Any friend of my daughter's is a friend of mine." Shean smiled and shook his hand.

"Pleased to meet you," he said in turn and then shook my mom's hand. "And you too," he added.

My mother smiled at me. "Mm, he's even got manners!"

Shean and I remembered the dogs and went over and released them from their 'stay' and they bounded out, happily jumping up on my parents to give kisses. They didn't even bother with the guards. My mom laughed, trying to keep Cyd from licking her nose.

"Avalla, who are these little beauties?"

I grinned. "Oh, these are our dogs. The brindle one is my border collie, Keegan, the white and black one is my other border collie, Cyd, and the golden one is Shean's golden retriever, Éire. Sit," I added in an aside to the dogs, who immediately obeyed.

My father raised an eyebrow. "You have them very well trained." I nodded and there was an awkward silence for a few moments. I felt as if I'd just met my own parents for the first time, and I wasn't sure what to say. My mother stepped in.

"Well, let's go inside," she said as a few flakes fell on our heads. We all nodded and one of the doors of the gate had already been opened when it was apparent that I really was who I said and we all went through, taking the horses with us and the dogs trotting at our side.

A/N: Okay, I now have a pretty decent loose plot, but I still would like input on what you think the characters will do in the next chapter, etc. and how you think the story is developing. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far!

A/N2: I edited this chapter a bit, but I forgot to put it on my disk, which I just found (yay!), so I'll transfer it off my laptop tomorrow and update it then.


	17. Chapter Seventeen: Well, I'm Back

** Chapter Seventeen: Well, I'm Back**

The most interesting re-introduction was with my little sister. Éralla came running out to greet my parents as we entered the palace.

"Who was at the gate, Mother?" She asked. Shean and I were intermingled with the guards so as not to attract too much attention. I chose this moment to step out.

"HeyÉra," I said, kneeling down to her level.

"Who're _you_?" She asked, cocking her head at a quizzical angle. Well, she _had_ been only five when I left, and I'd almost definitely changed, so I was half expecting this reaction. My mom, however, apparently was not.

"Éralla, don't you even recognize your own sister?"

She cocked her head up at Mom. "I thought you said my sister left when I was five?"

Mom nodded. "Well, she did, but she came back today."

"Oh," Éralla said in a bored voice. "So when can we get started planning for the Year's End celebration, Mother? I want a new dress, too," she added in a slightly whiny voice, completely forgetting that her long-lost sister had come back after three years.

I stood up and walked back into the safety of the guards and had a good laugh with Shean over Éra's reaction.

Mom introduced me to my other sibling, Gehvan. He was almost three years old now, and just starting to talk and run, and I could tell already that he was going to be a royal terror when he got a little older, and then he'd probably become the toast of the court once he got old enough to stay late enough at the balls to dance. And also that he'd probably be a royal _pain_, too, once he got just a little older. Goody. I couldn't _wait_.

"So, Val, now that you're back, I was hoping to have a welcoming ball," my mother said a few days later. I groaned.

"Mom, remember what happened last time?" I asked incredulously, amazed that she was actually thinking of doing this again.

She sighed. "I know, Val, but you're _eighteen_ now and everyone thinks that you should have been married at _least_ by the time you were sixteen, if not sooner." I stared at her.

"You don't actually _agree_ with that, _do_ you?" I sputtered, unable to believe what was happening.

She smiled sadly and shook her head. "No, your father and I don't agree, but there are diplomatic tensions starting to form with the kingdom of Ferrel and if you married into another kingdom, we'd gain another ally that we need right now."

I stared at her and my jaw dropped to the floor. "You're going to _sell_ me to another kingdom in return for help in a _war_?" I all but shrieked. Mom put her hands on my shoulders.

"Val, calm down and – " she started, but I didn't let her finish.

"No! I _will_ not let myself be sold like an – an object! I can help in other ways, and you know I can! I'll attend your _stupid_ ball if you want me to, but I _refuse_ to choose a husband!"

With that, I ran to my room and collapsed onto my bed, clutching the sheets and sobbing into them. Why couldn't she understand? She had had a _curse_ to obedient for crying out loud! I knew for a fact that she hadn't liked it and even now she didn't always obey certain commands unless she was asked nicely. _So why in the world was she going to make _me_ do something I didn't want to?_

Suddenly I heard a knock on the door.

"Go _away_!" I yelled, raising my head just enough so my voice wouldn't be muffled in the sheets. The intruder obviously didn't care what I thought, because a second later, I heard the knob turn and the door creaked open.

"Val? Are you okay?" It was Shean. I immediately sat up straight as a ramrod, wiping furiously at me tears. I couldn't stand it when people saw me cry, especially Shean, because he was bound to tease me about it.

"Of course I am!" I snapped back, even though it was obvious that I wasn't.

"No, you're not," Shean said, stating the obvious and sitting down on the bed next to me. Why did he always have to be right? "Come on, tell me, what's the matter?" He asked, putting an arm around my shoulders.

"Nothing!" I snapped again, glaring at him, but my nose was tingling, so I knew I was going to start crying again if I spoke any more.

"Val, come on," Shean coaxed, "I'm your best friend. I _know_ when something's up. Come on, tell me or I'll have to sic the dogs on you."

It was supposed to be funny, but I didn't laugh. Instead, I started crying again.

"I've been back for _three days_," I sobbed, "and already I'm having my life decided for me again!" I buried my face in my hands, but Shean put both arms around me and I clung to him for moral support.

"Hey, it's okay," he said in a soothing voice. "What exactly are they trying to decide for you?"

"My parents are going to throw a 'welcome home' ball or something and they're going to try to make me choose a husband from the young men who come!" I sobbed, getting a bit angry again. "Mom should understand that I don't want to be told what to do!" I griped. I had told Shean the story of Mom's 'gift' once he agreed to come back with me. I felt him nod in understanding as I cried into his shoulder, unable to stop.

"I understand," he whispered, even though I was pretty sure he didn't. Had his parents ever tried to _force_ him to choose a husband? Wait, no, of course they hadn't. Um… had they ever tried to force _him_ to choose a wife? There, that was better.

I finally cried myself out and then we just sat and talked, mainly about how different it was here than in America and stuff like that. By the time we were done talking, it was almost time for dinner, and I had to get changed into a dinner dress (just one more thing I didn't like about coming back).

The next day, my mom announced that my old friends had arrived. It seemed that she had invited them when I got home, and they'd only been able to get here today (and that they'd all brought a male 'chaperones' or something. Go figure). It _also_ turned out that she had arranged for us to go on an 'outing' to the lake. She finally agreed that if my friends' boyfriends (that's what I decided to call them instead of chaperones, since that seemed to be closer to the truth) went with us, we didn't have to have any guards go with us. Whatever. I just wanted to be able to go swimming, so I didn't care who was there, as long as there weren't any guards. They got so annoying when they kept trying to stop me from doing anything fun. So I decided to drag Shean along so I'd at least have someone fun to swim with.

My 'friends' had definitely changed. Before I'd left, they'd been more… sedate, I guess you'd say. Something like that. This time when they saw me, they all but suffocated me, clustering around and squealing about how much I'd changed and how glad they were to see me and all sorts of other piffle. Choke.

When I finally disentangled myself, I made for my room and locked myself in until dinner, where I had to hear all the 'latest' (is three years old talk still called gossip?): who had gotten married and who was the current Prince Charming of the uppers circles while I did my best to keep up an interesting conversation with Shean, who was more than willing to discuss the different aspects of the Force and didn't mind when I would have to turn and nod or something in response to one of the other girls.

He couldn't decide if he agreed completely with Jacen or if some of what Jace said might not be completely correct, so we had a sort of mini Jacen/Anakin argument about the Force and it's merits or whatever (except that since we're not Jedi we can't go into quite the same depth, even if Jaina _is_ my alter ego or whatever and Shean says Jacen is _his_ alter ego, heehee). It was a fun conversation, other than the detached nods and occasional 'uh huh' to the others.

The next day I was out of bed earlier than most of the others in order to get ready for the trip to the lake. The dogs were coming along, so I had to have everything ready for them.

Everyone else finally got up and we ate breakfast, and then set out on horseback. They had made me wear a dress, so I had to ride sidesaddle like the other girls. I could barely even remember how to ride sidesaddle after riding Western and English ever since I'd left Kyrria those three years ago. I was _dying_ to get out of that stupid dress. Everyone had worn 'swimsuits' under their clothes so that we could just take them off when we got to the lake and decided to go swimming. I wasn't wearing one. Well, I was wearing a swimsuit, but it was a real one-piece, not those wading dress things the other girls were wearing. The boys were wearing things that resembled men's gymnastics apparel, except for Shean, who had told me that he had worn his swim trunks underneath his pants (probably a pretty good idea).

When we got to the lake, I started fumbling with my dress. I hate button-backs. Have I mentioned that? I hate them with a vengeance. What ever happened to zippers? Wait, that's a stupid question. They haven't been invented in Kyrria. Stupid Val.

Well, I couldn't seem to get the buttons, but to my relief, Shean came over and helped me. I finally shrugged out of my dress and let it drop to the ground with relief.

"Ah!" I exclaimed, "_that's_ better!" Underneath my dress, I had been wearing a pair of my black sports pants and a sky blue t-shirt. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and saw everyone staring at me (well, except for Shean, who was used to t-shirts and pants, of course).

"What?"

"You – you – you," sputtered one of the girls who had previously termed herself my 'best friend'. Why did they insist on saying that? I just associated with them because it was expected of me. My only _real_ friends had been some of the boys who hadn't enjoyed court functions any more than me, and I wouldn't be able to see them now without my mom trying to pair me up with one.

I rolled my eyes and looked heavenward. "Oh, I'm wearing pants and a t-shirt?" I asked, anticipating what she was going to say. She nodded, looking like she was going to choke.

"And she definitely looks better with a dress on, doesn't she?" Shean stupidly decided to put in his two cents. I whirled on him and saw him giving me his lopsided Solo grin. I knew he was baiting me, but I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

"Why, you stuck-up, scruffy looking… _nerfherder_!" I cried in my best imitation-Leia voice

"Who're you callin' _scruffy_?" Shean replied in kind (in his best Han imitation), still grinning.

"You!" I replied back and tackled him. I knew he was joking about the dress thing, but it was so much fun getting to beat up boys. I sat on him and play-pummeled him, then he finally got a hold on me and we wrestled around until we both ended up on our backs in the grass, laughing. (the dogs had decided to get in on the action and instead of getting in on it, they just ended it)

I sat up and dusted myself off and saw that all the others were staring at us.

"_What_?" I asked, exasperated with constantly getting stared at like that.

"You were wrestling… with a boy!" The same girl who had commented on my clothes taste squeaked. I looked upwards again and tried not to scream. We used to do that all the time back at home! (and I always won) There wasn't anything wrong with it. Well, I guess that now that we're back in Kyrria, I'll have to get used to this kind of thinking. Oh well.

Shean sat up too and we pushed the dogs off us to stop them from licking our faces off. I looked over and noticed that Shean had a bruise on his cheek.

"Oh! Sorry about your cheek!"

Shean put a hand up to it. "Oh, I didn't even notice it. It doesn't hurt." _Too much_, I caught his thought. "Well, I guess you won, since I didn't get you at all."

I had a little bruise on my shoulder, but I wasn't about to say that.

"Come on, let's go swimming!" I called, standing up. The other girls helped each other off with their dresses and emerged with what I can only call old-fashioned ladies' bathing suits. If you went to go swim in them, you'd sink.

I pulled off my pants and t-shirt and put them with my dress, which left me in my one-piece. By now everyone else was in their bathing suits. I immediately ran for the tree that hung out over the lake and grabbed onto the rope that someone had tied onto one of the stronger branches. I swung in a long arch out over the lake and let go. I plunged into the water and came up spluttering and calling, "Come on, Shean, the water's great!" (I knew that the others would either be too scared to go out deep or they wouldn't know how to swim)

Shean followed my example and swung on the rope. I had paddled a ways away and he fell in at just about the same spot I had. He too came up spluttering.

"Whoa! Geez, Val, it's freezing!"

I laughed. "It's a lake and it's October. What did you expect?"

"Well, it's like eighty degrees out or something, so I expected something a _little_ warmer!" I rolled my eyes.

"Shean, we went to Lake Meridian enough that you should know well enough by now that just because it's seventy outside, that doesn't mean the _water's_ going to be the same temp." I splashed him. "There, maybe that'll warm you up."

"Hey!" He yelled and splashed back, which started a big water fight that lasted several minutes. It finally ended when Shean pushed me under and kept me down so long I finally had to push myself off of him to get to the surface and breathe.

I choked and gasped and made out for shore. Shean suddenly looked genuinely concerned and followed after me.

"Hey, Val, are you all right?" I ignored him. He grabbed my foot and I kept kicking like I hadn't noticed. His hand wasn't the only thing that'd grabbed me, my temper had too, and when my temper flares, I don't usually give in easily.

"Val, I didn't realize you'd been under that long!" Huh, like I would deign to reply to someone who'd tried to drown me.

"Come on, give it _up_!" He cried one last time as we got to the shallows and walked out. Well, he walked out and I hopped out on my hands and one foot, on my back like a crab because he still had hold of my foot to keep me from walking away.

He gave my foot a yank, making me collapse onto my back and I glared up on him. He stared back at me and suddenly I began to laugh, thinking how ridiculous I must look, laying in the sand with my hair spread out behind me like a cloud and my right foot being held in the air. Now that I thought about it, it was pretty funny.

Shean stared at me for a moment, then started laughing as well and dropped my foot and collapsed onto the sand, too, still laughing.

"Oh, wow, you looked _ridiculous_!" He chortled and I didn't contradict him. We lay there and laughed for a few moments, then Shean pulled himself together and stood up, brushing the sand off himself, then offered me his hand. I took it and he pulled me to my feet and I brushed off the sand.

"Come on, let's go get the rest of this sand off, then we can go dry ourselves off," I said, walking into the water again just deep enough to go under water and get all the sand off of myself, then walked out. Shean did the same, but had to go farther out, being taller and all. We liked to make things difficult, so we didn't just dunk ourselves in the short water.

I got one of the towel cloths I had brought along and dried myself off, then spread another on the ground and lay down on it to dry off in the weakening sun that was still shining in October and still making the temperature a decent seventy degrees or so.

Shean soon joined me and we started another Star Wars discussion that lasted until we were dried off, at which point we put our clothes back on over our swimsuits and went back to join the others who were also just drying off and redressing. We all remounted and rode back to the palace for another boring diplomatic dinner, after which I escaped back to my room and Shean and I finished up our discussion about Star Wars.

All in all, I decided, a pretty fun day.

A/N: Okay, I now have a pretty decent loose plot, but I still would like input on what you think the characters will do in the next chapter, etc. and how you think the story is developing. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far; you keep me inspired to write!

A/N2: Well, I updated quicker than last time. Go me! Just a quick question: if I found a picture of what I think Val looks like, would anyone want to see it? Just curious. If you would want to see a picture of Val, let me know and I'll see if I can find one and put up it up on a website or something, and I'll post the link in the next chapter. One more thing: do the paragraphs bunch up? If they do, please let me know so I can double space every single paragraph and fix it.(please say they don't bunch, or I'll die, hehe! Just think... twenty-odd chapters I have written up on my laptop that I'll have to double space. Choke and groan)


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Balls and Bedlam

A/N to reviewers: Yes, I know I don't usually do this, but I actually got some critiquing for the last chapter (whoopee!), so I wanted to say thanks and let people know that I do take your critiquing (call it flaming if you want, I don't) seriously and I am putting it all in a document that I will review when I go to do the rewrite. (sorry if it's a little long, you don't have to read it)

flamingirl – Yes, the plot is loose in this chapter. It was already scheduled to be rewrote because I don't like Chap Seventeen any more than you, hehe. I wrote it because I was bored and I wanted a fun interlude or… something like that. (how surprising: I can't even remember why I wrote it. Rather typical) Thank you, this is **_EXACTLY_** what I've been looking for! I like to know what people don't like as much as what they do. I don't consider it flaming, I consider it constructive critiquing, unless the reviewer is very mean about it and doesn't say _anything_ nice, and you were very nice about it. Thank you! (plus, you've reviewed positively before, heehee)

And as for the Star Wars things, well, I need to put in something for them to bicker about and (as you'll see once my website is up), I don't know about many things that they could bicker about. And, being a sci-fi/fantasy freak, I figured I could have them argue about Star Wars, which most people know about, or I could have them argue about something like whether it was right for Wind Blossom to try to recreate Kitti Ping's dragons on Pern, since she ended up creating whers. (See, didn't get a word of that, huh? Heeheehee…) So that's why I have them argue about Star Wars. (plus, I'm a complete Star Wars freak, and that's what I myself would do, so… you get the picture)

Gail –More surprised reactions from Ella and Char coming up! (Well, in the rewrite, but they're coming up, I promise!) The chapter does need some sort of good writing (like flamingirl said, it was rather loose), so I'll add that in the rewrite.

**Chapter Eighteen: Balls and Bedlam**

I had forgotten all about my welcoming ball while we were at the beach, but I was quickly reminded of it the next day when some servants came in to see if any of my old ball gowns would still fit. My mother decided that I needed a new one, not because they didn't fit me, but because the style had _totally_ changed. It wasn't big, hoopy skirts anymore; now it was slinky bodices and flared skirts with beadwork and embroidery designs. It would have to be a rush job, obviously, but the castle seamstress assured us it would be done in time.

It was and even I had to admit it didn't look _too_ bad. It was a sort of tie-dye blue that they must have figured out how to do while I was gone, and the colors looked similar to my favorite shirt, which I had shown my mother when I first got back. The bodice was tight, but not too tight (or not as tight as a corset, anyways; it was more fitted to my body than suck-in-your-stomach tight) and the collar was shaped like a diamond in front, coming down from the middle of my shoulders, and the back was cut down to about three inches or so above my waist (I didn't like that part so much, but I couldn't change it now). The skirt was slightly flared with a cut up the side of the leg, which, I found out, enabled me to run. There was light beadwork and embroidery designs on the bodice edges and beadwork on the skirt. It looked very cool and very fantasy-ish, which was awesome. The dress was sleeveless, but came with sleeve gloves of the same color, which made for a very neat effect.

All in all, it wasn't bad!

The night of the ball finally (unfortunately) came and I had to be 'presented' to the court. (why? I'd been 'presented' since I was born; surely they knew who I was by now!) My dad walked out with Mom, and I insisted that I'd rather have to walk out into the ballroom with Shean than some stranger, and since I threatened to go for a horseback ride if my request wasn't met, my mother had to agree since she knew full well that I'd carry through on my threat, heeheehee.

Shean and I walked through the double doors, my left arm in the crook of his right and we were announced as 'Princess Avalla and Sir Shean' at which I had to stifle a giggle. 'Sir Shean'? He _had_ to be kidding!

I controlled my laughter and took up the obligatory curtsy to move us into the first dance. Both of us had been dreading this part, but it was tradition, so we had to dance with each other. After that dance, we sat around with our punch and snacks and munched away and chatted about things back in Washington. I kept refusing dances until my mother stalked over and demanded that I dance with _some_one so I could keep face with the nobles and courtiers or whatever. So I danced with Shean as much as I could and danced with other boys when I absolutely had to. Luckily it was all waltzes and stuff, so I didn't have to do a stupid slow dance. I will admit, when I danced with Shean, we went faster than the music, but I didn't care; it was more fun to mess up some dumb formal dance at a stupid ball I didn't want to be at anyways!

Well, I finally got fed up with it all and dragged Shean out to the garden to the big central ring. It was a large circle made of tiles and surrounded by benches, except for the entrances by the different paths, and we used it for entertaining guests sometimes in the summer.

"Come on, let's do a stepping out," I suggested, pulling off my dance slippers and hiking up my dress. Shean nodded and stepped into place on one of the paths for his own entrance and started humming one of our step dance songs. (for those not in the know, a stepping out is an Irish step dance thing where you go and take turns doing steps. It's kind of like showing off with style)

I started my reel step and then stopped. "Um, Shean, that's a jig."

"Well then, do a jig!" He exclaimed. "There's more steps, anyways." I sighed and rolled my eyes.

"Oh, all right."

I started another step and then Shean started his when I finished and we kept going till we ran out of steps. So then we sat on the rim of a nearby fountain (and drank some of it so we didn't collapse from exhaustion since step dance wears you out quickly). Then we sat in companionable silence for a while, just looking at the stars.

I finally got up and led him to a balcony that had been built in the garden. There was a sort of telescope on it.

"Here, it's more fun to look at them through this," I said, bending down to look through the lens. My head banged into Shean's, who was apparently doing the same thing. We both rubbed our heads and I grinned. "After you."

He adjusted the tripod thing it was built on so that it was taller and he could see out of it better. "Hey, look at the moon," he suddenly said, and moved out of the way so I could see. I tried to look through the lens, but Shean was taller than me and I couldn't reach it now that he'd adjusted the height.

"Here," Shean said and I felt his hands come up under my arms and lift me up a bit so that I could see through the telescope.

"Thanks," I murmured, looking at the moon, which was different from Earth's moon, but still familiar.

"No prob," he replied. "Hey, you're pretty light."

"Of course I am, compared to you," I said, still looking at the moon. He dropped me.

"Hey!" I exclaimed and 'purposely-accidentally' landed on his foot.

"Ow!" He cried, hopping around clutching his foot. He went to sit down on the bench that was on the balcony, but missed and sat down hard on the floor, hitting his head lightly on the stone railing. I went to kneel beside him and examine his head.

"Shean, are you okay?" I asked, looking at the back on his head, then looking at his face to make sure there wasn't too much pain mirrored there.

"Yeah," he murmured and looked up at me. I realized my face was inches from his. "Val…" He whispered. And suddenly I found that my face was no longer inches away from his, but right next to it and my lips were touching his and he was kissing me.

I don't know why, but I didn't pull away. It was like I couldn't. I didn't even really mind it; it was like I'd been waiting for this to happen and it finally had. We eventually had to come up for breath and I looked at Shean. He was grinning shyly and quickly looked down at his hands when he saw me looking at him, which were fiddling with the bottom of his dress tunic that he'd had to wear for the ball.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what I was doing, I –" he muttered, blushing, but I held up a hand and stopped him.

"No, it's okay," I said quietly, smiling softly (and probably idiotically). "I – I kind of – liked it." I whispered. He looked up at me with evident surprise written on his features.

"Really?"

I nodded and bit my lip, looking down at my lap, blushing a perfect shade of red to match Shean's face.

"Then can we try it again?" He asked in a barely audible whisper and I found myself kissing him again, only this time we both responded to the kiss and I found myself slipping my arms around his neck as his came to encircle my waist.

"Hey, Val, Mother wants –" I suddenly heard my little sister's voice say and quickly broke off the kiss and sat down next to Shean against the railing, my face suffused with beet red. I glanced over at him and saw his face was approximately the same shade, though maybe a bit darker, if that was possible.

Éralla gasped. "I'm telling Mother that you were out in the garden kissing a boy!" She crowed triumphantly, having caught us fair and square.

I jumped up and clapped a hand over her mouth. "If you tell _anyone _what you think you just saw, I will _personally_ sell you to Ferrel!" I hissed, glaring at her with a lot of intensity. Her eyes widened.

"'F wofe te' Moffa!" She mumbled, her voice muffled by my hand.

"What was that?" I asked sarcastically, putting my ear closer to her mouth as if to hear her better. I heard a muffled snort of laughter from Shean. Éra pointed to my hand. I took it off, but replaced it with an iron grip on her arm.

"I won't tell Mother!"

I mock smiled at her. "Good! Because I was afraid I'd have to tell her about that time…" Her eyes widened and she shook her head vigorously. I hadn't even been sure of what I was going to use as an example of what I'd tell, but I was happy my bluff had worked. Shean and I had used to use that ploy on Kaet all the time.

"All right, now that we have that settled, what did Mom want?"

"She… she… oh, I remember. She wanted you to come back inside so that she can present you to one of the new nobleman's families. They've got a girl and a boy your age and she wants to introduce you."

"Tch, I'll bet she does," I muttered under my breath.

"What?" Éra asked.

"Nothing. Come on, let's go." I motioned for Shean to follow us and we went back to the ballroom.

When we got there, we found my mom waiting for us.

"Oh, Val, good. I'm glad Éralla found you. I'd like to introduce you to one of the new noble family's, Lord Kesten and his wife and his son and daughter."

She led me over to where a man was talking with another man, and his wife and children were standing.

"Lady Sellarra?" My mom said and the woman turned around.

"Oh, Queen Eleanor! How are you?" She asked warmly, shaking Mom's hand. Mom smiled back.

"Just fine. And you?"

"Very well, thank you. Children, greet the queen!" She prompted and the two kids turned around.

They looked almost identical. The boy had dirty blond shoulder length hair, as per the fashion of the court at the moment, and the girl had matching hair, except that hers went to her waist. They were both tall, and were wearing matching outfits (that suited their different genders, of course, but were obviously made to look similar) that only accentuated how much they looked like one another.

"Hello," the girl said, extending her hand and shaking my mom's. "I'm Jenna."

"Glad to meet you," my mother replied, smiling.

Jenna's brother also shook my mother's hand. "I'm Jerrem, Jenna's twin." My mom smiled at him too.

"Why don't you kids go and get acquainted," she suggested. "You can go out in the garden if you'd like." Shean and I exchanged awkward glances, but I nodded and smiled, hopefully not betraying my thoughts.

"Come on, this way," I said, leading the way. "I'm Avalla, by the way."

Jenna laughed. "I kinda figured that out."

"Oh, right." Stupid Val, of _course_ she knew who I was! I was the Princess, after all! "Well, call me Val. I hate my name."

Jenna grinned. "Okay. You can call us Jer or Jen or Jerrem or Jenna, your choice. We'll both usually respond to any of those names, so you don't have to be particular." We all laughed.

Shean was walking next to me and looking uncomfortable and he elbowed me.

"Oh, Jenna, Jerrem, this is my best friend, Shean," I said. Jenna and Jerrem said hi to him and he nodded back.

"Here, we can sit down here," I suggested when we got to several benches that were facing each other, two on each side of the path. Shean and I sat on one side of the path and Jenna and Jerrem took the other two benches. Jenna fussed with her dress, trying to sit down comfortably.

_Argh, I hate dresses!_ I heard her think.

"You hate dresses, too?" I asked without thinking, but thankfully that statement could have been made based on her actions, too, so she didn't suspect anything.

She looked up. "Yes." She sighed. "And yet, I have to wear them every day!"

I grinned. "I hate them, too." She looked surprised.

"Really? I would have thought you'd like them!" I stared at her.

"Why would I _like_ them?"

"Um… actually, I don't know. Because you're a princess, I guess, and I thought that princesses liked that kind of stuff."

I laughed. "No way! I'd rather be riding or hawking or something in my shirt and pants any day!"

Jenna grinned. "I think we're going to be friends," she said with a laugh. "None of the other girls in court seem to think the same way."

The boys must have felt left out of our little conversation, because they were now huddled up on the same bench discussing something I couldn't hear.

"Come on, let's go walk through the garden," I suggested to Jenna and we got up and started walking down the path. "Be back in a few!" I called to Shean and he just nodded without looking up. I shook my head. "Geez, when they get started talking, they sure don't stop for anything!"

Jenna smiled. "My brother likes to debate. I think he should be a politician when he's older."

I grinned. "Boy, I can't see Shean as a politician!" I laughed.

Jenna looked over at me, then abruptly changed the subject. "Shean's pretty handsome, don't you think?"

I stared at her, hoping she hadn't noticed anything between us or something. Actually, back in Washington, he was pretty darn normal looking, probably not grouped in the 'hot' group by anyone I could think of. But now that we were back in Kyrria, maybe he would be handsome, since he wasn't just another court clone. (his hair was still in a shorter cut than most of the other boys', although now he was letting it grow out a bit) "I dunno. Why?"

Jenna shrugged. "I don't know. I just saw how he kept looking at you until he and Jer started talking, and I kind of thought…" She trailed off and I eyed her.

"You thought what?"

"Well…" She started, then stopped walking and turned to look at me. "Look, I know I haven't known you for very long at all, and I probably shouldn't say things like this until I've know you for a while, but I'm pretty good at reading faces, and he sure seemed like he was… well… in love with you!"

I blushed furiously. "Why would you say that?" I asked, hoping she wouldn't notice how red my face was in the faint light of the candles that were set on poles along the path. She peered at me anyways.

"Like I said, from the way he kept looking at you, and the expression he had. And I'd say from your expression…" She suddenly gave a little chuckle. "That you love him too!" I stared at her, then looked at the ground.

"Um, Jenna, I haven't known you for even an hour, but… can I trust you to keep a secret?" She nodded seriously and didn't twitter like a lot of girls would have and I knew she could be trusted not to tell my mom.

"All right, well… um… I…" Ugh, I just couldn't say it. "You're right: Shean does love me," I finally said in a rushed voice.

"How do you know for sure?" Jenna asked in an interested voice, but not the gossipy-interested voice most of the other girls I knew would've asked in. I liked this girl more by the minute!

"Well… because he kissed me tonight," I said in a rush. I had to tell _someone_, or else I was going to blurt it out to my mom or something else just as bad. "Now remember, you promised you wouldn't tell!" I quickly added in warning.

Jenna grinned and nodded. "Sure thing; it's safe with me."

I sighed with relief and we continued walking.

"So, you don't like dresses?" Jenna finally asked. I shook my head.

"I can't _stand_ the things. I wear slacks and a t-shirt whenever I can, without getting in trouble."

"Slacks and a t-shirt?"

"Oh, sorry. A short-sleeved shirt and pants. Forgot you wouldn't know those terms. Anyways, yeah, I would rather wear those than a dress any day." Jenna agreed. "So, what do you like to do?" I asked.

"Well, I like to ride, in a men's saddle, and hawk, and hunt, and swim, and read, and a lot of other things that aren't 'appropriate for young ladies'." Jenna stuck out her tongue. "I don't know _why_ it's not 'appropriate'."

I grinned. "I like the exact same type of things, actually. You know, I think we'll be very good friends indeed."

Jenna grinned and nodded. "I think so too."

We walked for a little while longer, talking about nothing in particular, though Jenna asked a lot of questions about what life was like in Washington where 'there weren't nearly as many restrictions in regards to what young ladies should do and what they shouldn't as there were here'.

We finally made the loop back to where the boys were still sitting, deep in conversation. We both grabbed our respective boy's arm and dragged him up to get back to the ballroom before a search party was sent for us.

As we walked back, I felt Shean's hand slip into mine and I grasped it and smiled fondly up at him. And he smiled back.

A/N: Okay, that was one of the most painful chapters I have ever written, so you guys better enjoy it! No, I'm joking (well, only about the fact that you guys better like it, though I hope you do). I can't seem to write any scenes with kissing unless it's got some humor too, so that's why I had Éralla stand in for Threepio since Shean and Val were kind of my Leia and Han, hehe. (if you haven't seen Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back, you won't get the joke. And even if you have, you might not. I have an odd sense of humor sometimes) If anyone would like to give input on what I should change about this chapter, I'll take it gladly. I'm hoping that now that the painful (for me) first kiss is over, I'll have an easier time writing the romance for the story. (sorry, I'm just not a romance person, but Shean took over the story a while back and decided to fall in love with Val, I guess, so it does fit in the story, so I'd probably end up writing it anyways) Okay, I'll stop now and let you review.

A/N2: Wait! One more quick note. Sorry it took so long to update. I kept forgetting to get this chappie off of my laptop to my PC. (I am on the twenty-second chapter right now, so I do have some back-up chapters, so hopefully it won't be more than a week or two for the next one, so don't give up on me!) Anyways, does anyone know of a good photo hosting service? I've going to look at iVillage or whatever it is, and a couple other ones someone told me about. I need it so I can upload pictures of the characters. (well, the pic of Val. But if I do find a good picture of one of the other characters, I'll put it up as well) And if anyone knows of a picture that looks anything like Shean or Kaet or anyone else from the story, let me know. (I would do a search on Google or something, but I wouldn't know what to look for) Also, I'm going to be starting a website for myself for my writing soon (hopefully), so if anyone would like the URL once it's up, let me know and I'll put it in an A/N when I get it up and running. I _think_ that's all, and you're probably tired of me by now, so I'll stop boring you and let you get on with life. Thanks for reading!


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Confessions

A/N: Replies to reviews:

flammingirl – Thank you for the long review, heehee! It's nice to know I'm not the only one who rambles. Ooh! Ah! Gah! sound of Jaina Eowyn hitting herself on the head Didn't mean to tell you what happens! I took it out. Grr. I'm so stupid. Idiot! Sorry, won't do it again. I was just typing and… well, I guess I just typed it and… I'm making excuses. Anyways, I won't do it again, and if I do by accident, feel free to give me a good whack! Thanks.

flammingirl's reply - lol, i saw the update in my email and im like she already got the chapter up after just a day? lol, yea no prob for the long review, and thanks for the chapter that was practically just commentin on my review ;). lol, alright yea i can c how it just slipped cause ur so EXITED right? lol (makin up an excuse for u to add to urs :) ) lol, and yea agian, wats ur site? u keep sayin ull put up the pictures on "the site" but uve never given a domain name yet! lol, alright (sorry ive been so... "pushy" lately, i just dk ;) ) lol, alright heres another review :) keep writin girl!

My reply: Okay, the domain is solowriting. but I'm still working out all the bugs. It'll show up, but my div element got messed up, so it'll be hard to read. Just a note to all on the subject of updates: I will update these Review Reply things, so keep checking back. I'll also delete these before putting up the next chapter so you can still review it. Thanks!

Update: Okay, I have Solo Writing up now, but it's still in beta mode. Several of the pages are under construction on my laptop and will be transferred to my PC to be put up on the web soon. Once I work out the bugs with Bravenet, it will be fully operational. Here's the URL: http : solowriting . bravehost . com (take out the spaces) Just to warn you, I'm still trying to get the background to work, so bear with me.

A note to all: First of all, if you reply to the 'Replies to Reviews' thing I put up, I found that they don't get deleted when I delete the chapter, so if you want to review the REAL chapter that will replace the 'RtR' thing, you would probably want to do an anonymous review for the 'RtR' or something. Thanks so much!

And I WILL be putting up the pictures when I get them, but remember that it's up to you readers if you want to look at them, so if you want to keep seeing them the way you have been, that's fine. I totally understand how it could ruin how you see the characters (my mind wanders back to Lord of the Rings when it came out in theaters and how some of the characters didn't look like how I had thought of them, though I did like how all of them looked, but anyways). So it's up to you guys if you look at them, and if you do, remember that this is just how **_I_** see them, not how you HAVE to see them or something like that. Okay, you're probably tired of me, so I'll go away.

**Chapter Nineteen: Confessions**

The next day, my mum allowed me and Shean to take a ride (unchaperoned, thankfully) to a nearby flower field that I knew of to have a picnic. The cook got together a lovely spread and we rode down to the meadow and spread out the sheet that we were using as a picnic blanket next to the little stream that ran through the meadow.

"Mm, this is a nice little place," Shean commented as we laid out the food.

I nodded and reached for a piece of bread and we sat in contented silence for a while before Shean spoke.

"Val…" He started, looking over at me. I looked up from the sandwich I'd made. "Um, about last night," he stuttered. I nodded slightly, my face frozen, half afraid of what he was almost certain to say now. "I hope – I hope you didn't – I hope you didn't take it the wrong way," he finally managed, stuttering badly. I shook my head and looked away, staring up at the sky, hoping I didn't look how I felt. "You understand… right?"

I nodded again, still not looking at him. "It's okay, Shean, I understand. It was just… spur of the moment." I _understood_ all right. He hadn't meant that kiss, and I'd thought he had. In fact, I'd rather hoped he had, because after my chat with Jenna the night before, I realized that I really did love Shean. But now it seemed he didn't reciprocate that feeling.

Shean touched my chin and turned me back to face him. I unwillingly looked back at him. "Good. Because this _isn't _spur of the moment," he murmured and I found our lips locked once again in a deep, tender kiss. My arms snaked around his neck and I felt his arms on my waist pulling me towards him as he deepened the kiss. We finally broke for air and I was centimeters from his face again, our foreheads resting on each other.

"Then you meant that?" Shean asked. My brow furrowed. "About not minding it when I kissed you last night?" He clarified. I smiled and shook my head lightly.

"No," I whispered, "I rather liked it. Though not as much as I enjoyed a few moments ago," I added flippantly. He grinned and I put my head on his shoulder and looked up at the clouds.

"Val, can I tell you something?" Shean asked softly.

"Mm-hmm," I murmured.

"Val, I – I – I love you!" He finally blurted out.

I didn't move and simply whispered, "I know."

I heard him sigh. "You know, we _really_ need to lay off with the Star Wars lines."

I grinned. "No, it's true. I was talking with Jenna last night while you and Jer were chatting and she gave me the opinion of an interested bystander."

He looked slightly confused. "You guys went somewhere?"

I looked heavenward and rolled my eyes, then looked back at him. "Man, when you get into a discussion, you get _into_ a discussion! And I love you too."

Shean shook his head as if to clear it and laughed. "Man, _that_ conversation sure went off track. But thanks."

"Huh?"

"For returning my love."

"Oh. You know, we can't tell my mom, otherwise you'll find yourself the new Prince of Kyrria like that." I snapped my fingers.

Shean smiled fondly and put his arm around me. "I wouldn't mind that, you know," he murmured, fingering my hair.

I stared at him, then shook my head and laughed. "I think you'd get tired of it pretty quickly!"

He shook his head. "I'd never get tired of you. After all, I put up with you for three years."

I laughed again and put my head on his shoulder. "No, I meant the responsibilities and the duties that go with the job."

"I think I could get used to those if I could have you."

I almost sat up, but didn't. "Is that…"

He laughed. "No, not yet. I just want to have you to myself for a while before we think about that."

I nodded, content with that. Then I had a thought and I grinned. "Hey, Shean, you never told me that you'd loved me from the first moment you saw me. Wasn't that supposed to be part of your confession speech?" I gave him a sly little grin.

He smiled down at me. "No, because I don't think I did. When I first saw you, I thought you were just a strange girl who must have been kicked out of a renaissance fair or something. I think it just kind of… happened, once I got to know you. You're not like most other girls, Val; you know that, right?"

I laughed. "Of course! Because if I _was_ like all the other girls, I'd be in the popular group with all the other supernaturally pretty girls, huh?"

"Yes, you _would_ be," he said solemnly, and I couldn't tell if he was serious or just playing with me. I grinned and punched him on the shoulder.

"That was a joke! I'm not very pretty and you know it!"

He turned a mock injured expression on me. "And here I thought you were beautiful!" He said in a hurt tone. I grinned up at him.

"Yeah, well, you just keep thinking that, flyboy."

"I will, your worshipfulness" he whispered and kissed me. I smiled and laid my head back on his shoulder.

We sat in silence and finished our lunch, then returned to the palace.

A month or so passed and the temperature quickly plummeted from the nice weather we had had in October once it hit November. Before we knew it, it was nearing the end of December and time for the annual New Years ball.

Shean and I helped decorate, and Éralla helped get underfoot (she thought she was helping, of course).

We had to dress up for the ball, of course, but my dress was similar to the one I wore for my welcoming ball, so I didn't mind. I still thought Shean looked sort of laughable in his dress tunic.

We all entered the ballroom pretty much the same way that we had for my welcoming ball, and I started the first dance, a fast moving one, with Shean. When that one ended, we danced a few more sets, then we grabbed a couple glasses of punch and went to lean against a door frame to talk and drink our punch.

"No, Jaina's stronger than Jacen," I insisted. Shean rolled his eyes.

"Val, remember everything Jace did in NJO? Can you really say that Jaina's stronger than him after all he endured in Vong hands?" He reasoned.

"Well, Jaya could have given in to the dark side, but she didn't. I wonder what Jacen would have done if their roles had been reversed." It wasn't a real argument, we were just seeing who was better at arguing.

"Well, how about a lightsaber match?" Shean asked. I shook my head.

"They already did that in _Shadow Academy_, dunderhead," I reminded him. "They're evenly matched in lightsaber combat, but that doesn't mean they're evenly matched in the Force, or in anything else, for that matter."

Shean sighed and handed me his glass, then banged his head (lightly) on the door frame, and then turned back and took the cup back. "There, all better," he announced.

I laughed. That was a custom of ours: we would bang our heads on a wall, door, whatever was handy three times when we were frustrated or something. After three years of that, we'd ended up with foreheads that could take headbuts pretty well.

We both took another sip of punch, and then looked up as we heard a giggle. One of the other girls that I knew was standing in front of us and glancing back and forth between us and the top of the door frame. We wrinkled our brows at her.

"What?" I asked.

"See what's hanging over the door?" She giggled.

Shean and I both looked up and my eyebrows jumped. It was a sprig of hollythorn, a plant that people in Kyrria and a bunch of other kingdoms traditionally hung up around their house that acted like mistletoe: if you were caught with someone while you were under the hollythorn, you had to kiss them. By now, a few of the other girls had gathered to watch too.

I glanced at Shean out of the corner of my eye. I didn't mind having to _do_ it, of course, but I didn't want my mom to find out. Oh well, just so long as we didn't get too into it, we could just say that we'd been caught under the hollythorn and the others had _made_ us do it.

We had our backs turned to the others, so Shean gave me a wink and kissed me. It was quick, but it was nice. All the girls gasped, having assumed I'd just give him a kiss on the cheek or something. We gave them all 'looks', and they quickly turned and walked quickly away to go do something.

"Come on, let's get out of here before my mom hears anything about this, or we're dead," I whispered and we put our punch glasses on the table to get taken back to the kitchen and wandered out into the garden again.

"Should we go view the stars again?" Shean asked, gesturing in the direction that the telescope lay.

"No, you're too tall for me to see anything," I replied, grinning slyly, referring to when he'd adjusted it so he could see better. Then Shean suddenly grabbed me up under the arms and lifted me off my feet so that my head was level with his.

"Now are you tall enough?" He asked in my ear and I could hear a grin in his voice, though I couldn't see his face.

"Aah, Shean, put me down!" I cried, laughing and struggling. I accidentally connected with his shin and he quickly put me down, hopping onto the nearest bench with a very pained expression on his face.

"Ooh, Shean, you okay?" I asked, squatting down to examine his leg. I had a hold of it and was checking it when he suddenly jerked it away and I went sprawling on my back.

"Hey, what was that for?" I cried indignantly. Shean was on the bench laughing his head off.

"Y-you should have _seen_ your face!" He crowed as I sat up, glaring at him. I rubbed my back.

"You know, that hurt," I muttered.

Shean was still laughing as he started to stand up, then winced and quickly sat down again, looking down at his shin. I got onto my knees and went back over to examine the leg again.

"Mommy, kiss it for me and make it _all_ better!" Shean asked in a fake teary, whiny imitation of a five-year-old, putting on a mock-pitiful face and jutting his bottom lip out in a quivering pout.

I grinned evilly to myself and started prodding his shin. "Tell me when it hurts, _sweet_heart," I cooed in a sickly sweet voice.

"Ow!" Shean cried and I stopped.

"All right, I'll kiss it there." I bent down and kissed it. I could smell his feet, but I tried to ignore it.

"That's all better, Mommy, but now my elbow hurts," Shean whined. I reached up and grabbed the offended piece of arm and kissed it. "How 'bout here?" He asked softly, pointing to his cheek. "That hurts too."

I rolled my eyes, but gave the proffered cheek a peck. Then Shean grabbed me and kissed me full on the lips. I jumped and pulled away, startled by the quick movement, and Shean laughed and slowly pulled me back. I relaxed and let him pull me onto the bench beside him and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Love you," I murmured as his arm came to encircle my shoulders.

"I know," I heard as I closed my eyes and I smiled.

A/N: So, what'd you think? I'd love to know! (yes, that's a shameless hint to hit that little button at the bottom of the page that says review, heehee) Sorry, I'll try to stop with the blatant hints to review now and let you do it.


	20. Optional: Chapter Twenty: News, and Wish

Disclaimer: I'll Take Care of You and Celebrate You belong to Steven Curtis Chapman.

A/N: I hope no one minds the songs. I haven't put any in for a while, and SCC is my favorite singer, so I just had to put them in. I just want to know if they even fit, hehe. If you don't think they do, or if you're tired of songs, let me know in your review and I'll take them out in the rewrite.

P.S. This chapter is optional because it doesn't really have too much to do with the storyline, I was just bored, so I wrote it. Sorry the story's been so slow; it'll speed up soon, 'cause we're getting into the fun part. And I still really need Beta Readers. (And believe me, I'm going to keep saying so 'cause no one's taken me up so far, heehee)

**Chapter Twenty: News, and Wishes Do Come True**

My mother had only prompted me about choosing a husband a couple times since the ball, which had been three days past this morning. I was sitting at my bedstand brushing my hair when there was a knock at my door.

"Come in," I called and the door swung open and I could see my mom in my mirror. "Oh, hey," I said as she walked in. She sat down on my bed and folded her hands in her lap.

"Um, Val…" She began, her hands fiddling with her skirt.

"Yeah?"

"I'd like to talk to you about –"

I automatically cut her off, turning to face her. "Mother, I don't feel like picking a husband. And if you try to marry me off without my consent, I will refuse to say my vows," I stated calmly. She sighed and nodded.

"I know, darling, but…" She trailed off.

"Mom, why can't you understand? You know how it is to be forced to do things you don't want to," I reminded her desperately but quietly. I couldn't believe how calm I was. Usually I would be ranting and raving. Maybe it was because I knew if it came to a head, I could always just say I'd marry Shean and then ask him later, knowing he'd probably say yes anyways.

"Well, have you even _looked_ at any of the young men?" She asked, sounding just as desperate as I felt.

"Yes, and most of them are arrogant, stuck up gizzards who only want me for the title," I replied evenly, tucking my golden-brown hair behind my ear as I turned back to the mirror to work on my hair.

Mother sighed. "All right, but everyone wants to have this settled as soon as possible. They think it should have been settled three years ago, or that you should have been betrothed at birth, but I want to give you the choice." I nodded, but she wasn't finished. "But," she continued as she stood up, holding up a finger, "if you don't choose for yourself, we will be pressured into having to choose for you." I nodded again and she left. About a minute after she had closed the door, there was another knock.

"Yeah?"

"It's Shean."

"Come on in," I called, standing up and sitting down on my bed, finishing up with my hair.

Shean opened the door and stepped inside, closing it firmly behind him and came over to sit down next to me.

"What was that all about?"

I sighed. "She was starting on the 'husband' thing again."

Shean sighed too. "You're going to keep being difficult about it, aren't you?" He asked in an almost neutral tone. I looked up, trying to figure out if he was disappointed in me or not. He was staring at the wall and didn't have much of an expression, so I couldn't tell.

I finally nodded. "Yes, I am."

He immediately smiled and turned to hug me and I let him hold me.

"Good. I don't want to loose you so soon."

I didn't quite understand, but I let it be.

"Besides," he continued as he let me go, keeping an arm around my shoulders and my head on his shoulder, "if it comes to a point, you know you can always tell her you'll take me if you haven't found anyone you can stand to live with."

I grinned. "That's exactly what I was thinking, but I wasn't sure you'd want to."

Shean laughed. "Why wouldn't I? I already told you I loved you."

"Yeah, but this is a lifetime commitment, and there's more responsibilities and stuff than most guys would have when they got married. And you'd have to be king someday." I sighed, knowing how much Shean hated that kind of thing. Instead of replying, Shean started to hum, then sing in a soft, murmuring voice. I smiled, knowing the song well.

I'll take care of you/

Don't be sad, don't be blue/

I'll never break your heart in two/

I'll take care/

I'll kiss your tears away/

I'll end your lonely days/

All that I'm really trying to say/

Is I'll take care of you

I want you to know that I love you so/

I'm proud to tell the world you're mine/

I said it before, I'll say it once more/

You'll be in my heart 'til the end of time

I'll take care of you/

Don't be sad, don't be blue/

Just count on me your whole life through/

'Cause I'll take care of you

I grinned as he ended. "Thanks, just don't tell the world I'm yours just yet."

He gave me a mock surprised look. "Why, aren't you?"

I laughed. "Yeah, but I don't want them to know just yet."

He smiled and started another song, though this time I joined in.

I'm no stranger to gentle reminders/

That the world does not revolve around me/

But no sooner have you spoken the words/

Then your love comes once again to surround me/

And every time I look in your eyes/

I see the reflection of myself/

But this time I want to look deeper/

And see you and nobody else

So, tell you what you think, and tell me what you feel/

I want to hear the thunder I'm so quick to steal/

Listen to the drams you're dreaming and celebrate you/

Let me show you what a treasure you are/

A priceless gift from heaven to this thankful heart/

I want to take this lifetime to celebrate you/

I want to celebrate you

I have heard you say so many times/

How you're sorry you're not everything you should be/

So let me tell you this one more time/

There's no way you could be any more precious to me/

But I know that lovely flowers and phrases/

Are not what you need the most from me/

You're longing for someone to listen/

And that's what I want to learn how to be

I want to share your laughter/

And I want to share your tears/

We're gonna share this life together/

And I'm gonna celebrate you/

Celebrate you

I smiled again. "Well, you do that, but don't let my mum know just yet."

He laughed and squeezed my shoulder. "I think you've made that abundantly clear," he chuckled. "Would you like another one?" I assumed he meant a song.

I shook my head. "I think this is just fine, thank you," I murmured, laying my head back on his shoulder. He rested his head on mine and we sat in silence for a few minutes until there was a knock on my door and a servant announced through the door that breakfast was ready. I started and knocked the top of my head on Shean's chin and he bounced up, then laughed, and picked me up off the bed and set me on my feet, and we set out for the dining room that the family usually ate at when we didn't have important company.

When we walked into the room, the only person sitting at the table was Éralla.

"Where's Mom and Dad?" I asked as we sat down, looking around.

"Some meeting with their advisors or councilors or whatever," Éra replied, scrunching up her nose and sticking out her tongue. "They're _always_ in meetings," she complained.

I sighed. "What's _this_ one about?"

"Bore or four or war or something."

I dropped my fork and jerked up ramrod straight. "_What?_"

She shrugged. "I don't know; Nanny didn't tell me much of anything."

I dropped my head into my hands, then looked up at Shean with a resigned grimace. "Well, looks like this is our cue to go get that list ready to go."

He nodded. "Come on, let's get back to your room. We can have the servants bring up some food, right?" I nodded and we went back up to my bedroom.

"All right, here's what I have," Shean said, handing me a list that he had gotten when he'd ran back to his own quarters. I perused it.

"Well, looks good to me, though I don't know much about this kind of thing. I wonder why we needed to have this ready?" I mused.

Shean shrugged. "I dunno, but it's a good thing we knew beforehand, otherwise I wouldn't have had this ready. Maybe they figured out how to make a wish machine or something," he laughed.

There was a knock just then and a couple servants came in with our breakfast. We talked for a while before there came another knock and my parents came in. They seemed a little surprised to see Shean eating breakfast in my room with me, but they just sat down on the bed and didn't say anything.

"Val, we need to talk," my dad said. There was a pause.

"Well, um…" Mom trailed off and I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever you have to say, Shean can hear too."

They both sighed. "All right, fine," Dad all but growled. Must be serious. "Val, you know there have been tensions with Ferrel." I nodded. "Well, Ferrel wants to declare war." I didn't even gape or anything and my parents looked surprised.

"You're not surprised?" Mom asked.

I shook my head. "I thought I told you that I already knew."

She shook her head warily. "Well, anyways, we just wanted to tell you that you're going to have to go to stay somewhere else until we get this sorted out." _And until we find some weapons that'll stand up to Ferrel_, I heard from my dad, although he didn't say it aloud.

"Well, Shean and I have a list of weapons that might help, though I don't know where we might get them," I muttered, feeling stupid, but figuring I might as well let them know, even if it wouldn't do any good.

My dad looked up, an almost hopeful expression on his face. "Really? That was something else we wanted to talk to you about. Someone came up with… well, I guess you might call it a – well, a wish machine." Shean and I exchanged startled glances, remembering his remark earlier.

"How does it work?"

Dad opened his mouth, then shut it again, looking puzzled. "To tell you the truth, I'm not sure. All I know is that you write down what you want on a piece of paper in nice, neat handwriting, and insert it into the machine. There's a deposit room that will collect everything that comes out. It's limited to certain people and you may not get many wishes, but if you help us with things for the war, we can probably get you each three wishes or so."

I smiled. "_Sure_. Do each of the wishes need to be on a separate piece of paper?"

Dad nodded. "Yes, that would be helpful."

"Okay, we'll have it ready soon," I promised and they stood up. Shean and I stood up as well to see them out. When the door shut behind them, I collapsed backwards onto my bed.

"Wow, _three wishes_. I'll need to think of something good that I'll really, really use," I mused, folding my hands behind my head. I sat up again. "I'll make a list and decide which I need most," I decided. Here's how the list went, in random order:

Star Wars books

Our guitars and accessories

More t-shirts and pants (no one would make me any more)

All the Steven Curtis Chapman CDs, both already released and future ones

Solar-powered rechargeable batteries (my CD Walkman and headphones had made their way into my bag, but I only had about 36 more batteries)

Any Christian CDs that I'd probably like, both already released and future ones

I ended up crossing off the Steven Curtis Chapman CDs because that would fall into the sixth wish anyways. Except that that still made five wishes and I only had three. I showed it to Shean and he helped me narrow it down to number two, five, and six.

Shean's was somewhat similar and about the same length, but his had a couple different things, since he didn't bring his CD Walkman and stuff.

We organized the weapons list onto different pieces of paper to feed the machine, and my parents came to get us and our lists the next morning after breakfast. Shean had refused to let me see his list, but I could guess what was on it.

We were taken to a room under the castle in which there was a big machine that looked like one of those mad scientist concoctions from the movies. There was a little man standing next to the machine who looked very much the part of a mad scientist: white hair that sprung away from his head as if it had been shocked, very slightly hunched like he was always bending over something, white outfit and all.

"Vellen, this is my daughter and her friend Shean," Dad introduced us. "Val, Shean, this is Vellen, the maker of the Wish Machine."

Vellen gave us a nod and moved over to the front of the machine to explain it. He gave us a bunch of terms that made no sense whatsoever.

"Um, can you explain that in layman's terms?" I asked.

He looked confused, but then his expression brightened. "Ah, yes, I see. You don't understand. Well, without telling you how it works, essentially what this little beauty does is you insert your wish here-" He indicated a slot, "and pull this lever-" He indicated the proper lever, "and your item or items will come out in the next room. It is rather large, so you need not worry about size." He beamed at us and we nodded.

"Let's do the weapons first," I suggested, "then you two can get them collected and get started on getting prepared. We wrote down on the papers to include instruction packets on how to use everything, too."

My parents nodded and Shean inserted the first paper into the slot and pulled the lever. There was a cranking sound of grinding gears and other loud poppings and noises, and we all covered our ears. We continued doing this until the whole weapons list had been cranked through and retrieved to the weapons store by soldiers.

"Thank you, Val," my mom called as she and my father left to go inspect the weapons.

"Well, it's our turn now, I guess," I sighed and took a breath, starting to get excited. Then I stopped. "Um, Vellen, is there any padding in that room?" Vellen nodded. "Well, would it be sufficient to cushion a falling hollow wooden instrument without breaking?" He shook his head. "Then please ask a couple soldiers to go in there and catch our guitars."

He shuffled to the door and relayed my instructions. He waited there until he was assured that the men were in place, and then he came back in and I put in my paper and pulled the lever. Again we covered our ears at the loud noises the machine made and the soldiers came in with the guitars. I quickly stripped off the gig bag and caressed the instrument for a moment, feeling the familiar smooth wood under my fingers, then set it aside so I could put in my next paper. To my delight, there really were such things as solar powered batteries (I was just taking a guess and hoping really hard I was right).

My next wish turned out well. There was at least a whole wheelbarrow's worth of CDs that tumbled into the room, and Vellen assured me that any future CDs would appear in a box he gave me. I had also jotted down my CD player and batteries for it at the last minute, and that came with the CDs, cushioned so they wouldn't crush the CDs.

Then it was Shean's turn. His first wish turned up a little ball with a line around the middle and symbols all over it. Shean took it from the man who brought it in and looked at it, puzzled. Vellen took it from him.

"Here, young sir, look. It works when you take the ball in both hands and twist." He didn't demonstrate, which seemed odd to me, until Shean spoke, smiling more broadly than I'd seen for a while.

"I can go back and visit my Mom, Val," he cried excitedly, fondling the ball. I gasped and then grinned. I'd figured he might wish for something like that, but I wasn't sure if anything worthwhile would come out.

His next wish got carted off to his room without being brought in, and Shean didn't tell me what it was, though he had a sly, secretive smile on his face, and Vellen gave him a box almost identical to mine.

His last wish got carted off as well. Once that was done, we thanked Vellen profusely and carried our guitars and Shean's ball up to our rooms, men following us with the rest my things that had come through.

We deposited our things into my room, then Shean pulled me off to his room.

"Close your eyes," he instructed and I did so. He opened the door and led me into the room. "Okay, you can open them now."

I did so and gasped, then squealed. "Oh, _Shean_." I ran over to the big box that was sitting next to his bed. I had gotten a glimpse of a familiar logo inside and started digging through the box with delight as Shean set his little box down in the corner of the room.

"My gosh, Shean, why didn't you tell me you were going to get all the Star Wars books?" I squealed, still pawing through the best books in the galaxy. Shean laughed and came over. He picked me up under his arm and put me on the bed next to him.

"_Hey_," I cried, but didn't protest any more than that. I knew he'd let me read them later.

"I didn't tell you because they were a surprise. They're yours."

I stared at him. "Wh – what?"

"Yeah, they're for you."

"Wh – why?"

"Are you fishing for another 'Because I love you'?" Shean asked with a wink.

I shook my head, dumbfounded.

"Well, you're gonna get it, 'cause that's why."

I shook my head in bewilderment. "But – but Shean, what about all those other things on your list? Didn't you want those?"

He shook his head. "I don't need them, and it was more than worth it to see your face when you saw all the books," he added with a grin, giving me a quick peck on the cheek. I grinned.

"Wow, this is great. If you ever wanna read any, just go ahead and take them."

He laughed. "Okay, I'll hold you to that. But that's not all." He stood up and guided me over to another large box that seemed to be full of clothing. "These are yours too."

My eyes widened and I jumped up and down. "Oh my _gosh_, _thank_ you, Shean." I spun around and hugged him tight, then picked up one of the t-shirts. "It's just the right size and it's even my color." I laughed, spinning around, then hugging him again.

He laughed. "Glad you like 'em. Now come on, let's get someone to take these to your room and we can go for a ride or something."

"Promise you won't speed on the ride?"

Shean just laughed.

A/N: Sorry about the songs. I'll try not to put any more in. Also,


	21. Chapter Twenty one: Fights Galore

** Chapter Twenty-one: Fights Galore: All that and more**

Several days later, Shean and I had to sit in on a council meeting. Ferrel was declaring war and we were going to be forced to sign into it and we had to be prepared to fight them. So we had a representative of all of our allies (and some kingdoms that were considering becoming allies) at a meeting and I, being the princess, had to sit in on it, so I hauled Shean along, since he knew more about tactics or whatever than me. (which isn't hard, since I know nothing about tactics, but whatever) Several of the allies sons and daughters had come along, too (no doubt Kyrria's trying to get another cemented ally by marrying me off), but Shean and I were the only under-twenty-ones at the meeting.

Shean elbowed me suddenly and I woke up. I doubted anyone had noticed that I had dozed off, but just to be certain, I set down the book I had been reading and looked around as if I had just been reading and was now ready to get involved in the debate.

"No, the champion _must_ be from Sellian," protested one man, banging his fist on the table. I threw Shean a glance out of the corner of my eye.

"They're _trying_ to decide who should go after the Seeing Stones," he whispered discreetly.

"Huh?"

"I'll explain later. Just suffice to say that they're links between kingdoms and are very important." Now I wished I'd stayed awake, since all I knew about the Seeing Stones was legend. Oh well. At least it was starting to get exciting now.

The debating continued for ten minutes and I yawned. Did I say exciting? It _had_ been exciting. Now it was mind-numbing. And it still wasn't done. _And_ they still hadn't chosen anyone. I sighed and leaned over to Shean to whisper inconspicuously for his ears only.

"Geez, wouldn't it just be easier if we went ourselves?" I asked with a little almost inaudible chuckle. Then I froze, a hundred-watt light bulb going off over my head.

Shean saw the look on my face and hissed, "V_al,_" in a warning tone. I ignored it.

I raised my hand and cleared my throat. Every single eye in that whole entire room turned to me and I swallowed a couple times before speaking. "Um… respected peoples of this world." Gee, what a _great_ start, Val. "I would like to make a proposal." No one moved. "I would like to propose that Sir Shean and I make the journey to collect the Seeing Stones." There was a moment of silence, then every single person in the room except the Kyrrians and Shean burst into _loud_ guffaws of laughter.

"_You_, Princess?" Chuckled one large man, clutching his expansive belly as he laughed. "I don't think you know what you're saying."

I shook with rage. Of _course_ I knew what I was saying. "Yes, I _do_."

But no one would listen. When the laughter had finally subsided and all the gibes had stopped, they turned back to which of their knights should take the quest on. Insulted, I got up and strode quickly and stiffly out of the hall and up to my room with Shean running along behind. He caught my arm just as the door shut behind us in the corridor outside of the meeting hall.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to my room; what does it _look_ like I'm doing?" I all but yelled back as I continued walking, his hand still holding my arm, trying to stop me.

I whirled on him and tried to pull away. "What's the problem? I just want go to my room and _punch_ something."

Shean moved ahead of me, dragging me along by my arm at a pace faster than I could easily keep up with. He pulled me to my room and closed the door, then dumped me firmly down onto my bed. He stood over me, glowering.

"Look, Val, I'm not very happy, either. Next time, please ask _me_ first." He sounded rather mad. "Do you even know what you're getting yourself _into_?"

I nodded confidently. "I know all the legends, 'cause they were taught to me in my history lessons."

Shean sat down and sighed, his head in his hands. "Then tell _me_, please?" He asked, not looking at me.

"Well, ages ago, there was a great lord named S'selth. He was a great master of magic and he created the fifteen Seeing Stones. They were created so that he and his allies could communicate across any distance."

"Wait, wait," Shean interrupted. "If they were for his allies, then why are we trying to get them? I thought I remembered someone in the council mentioning his name, and I thought he was on the other side a long time ago."

I shook my head. "He _was_ a bad guy. He was defeated and confined long ago. But when he made the Stones, he was on our side. But then he got too power hungry and turned to the dark side. The Stones were lost to monsters and other difficulties, either lost by their masters or put there by S'selth. Now we have to go and find them again. With them, we'll be able to use the minor Stones we still have, and we can give them to our army commanders and officers and other important people and be able to communicate with them without risking our messengers."

"Huh? Minor stones?"

"Yeah, they're kind of like the seeing stones, but without pictures, just sound. And they're smaller, so they're easier to carry. Kind of like the difference between holos and comm links."

Shean nodded, trying to look like he understood. By now, we had both calmed down. I sighed.

"But now I'll bet we'll have a problem."

Shean cocked his head. "Why?"

I looked up. "Because I'll bet that none of the knights or champions will want to go. The whole journey is said to be loaded with peril, not to mention what you have to go through to actually _get_ each of the stones. And none of them are in the same place. Luckily, we no longer have to get S'selth's Stone."

"Why?"

"Because when he was defeated and confined, his Stone was taken and is now in custody in Ayrlan."

"Is that one of the allies?"

I nodded. "Before I left, I think I heard them agree to bring the Stone here. They probably already sent off a messenger to bring it back." I sighed and flopped backwards onto the bed, then sat up and went to get my guitar.

I sat back down on the bed and started strumming some chords. Pretty soon, my pick was flying up and down the strings and my fingers were squeaking across the frets on the neck and Shean had joined in. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door and we both froze, hands automatically covering the strings to stop the music.

I stood up and put my guitar on the bed. "Yes?"

"Val?" It was my mother's voice.

"Yeah?"

"Could you come out here?"

Shean and I exchanged glances, but I went and opened the door.

"Where's your guitar?" _Not_ what I was expecting. I was expecting a reprimand on how loud we were. (well, aren't acoustics _supposed_ to be loud? It's not like you can make them be quiet and still sound good)

"Um, in my room," I replied, wrinkling my brow.

"Oh. I heard you playing and I was going to ask if you and Shean would play after dinner tonight."

I sighed, but I was actually rather delighted. I had been playing for three years, most of that time I had been in the band, but I'd never gotten to play before my parents or other dignitaries. "You're trying to show me off to show them that we're just as good as they are, aren't you?" I asked, knowing what she'd say.

"Well, no, I… yes." Maybe not. "I believe we need to convince them that Kyrria does have strengths. We may be the head of the council right now, but that's only because we're in the front lines of the attack that will be launched on the allies. We need to convince them to let our champion be the one to get the Stones, so we can prove we're not just asking for their aid and won't give anything in return if the fight comes past us to their homes as well."

I felt the urge to laugh, but didn't. "Great, Mom. They're sure going to want to let our knights go after the Stones once they hear me play my guitar. Sorry, but I'd rather just play in my room." Well, actually I wouldn't, but I was afraid she had someone who was going to go and propose or something after I played and exclaim about how good I am. Just what I needed. I like compliments, but only when they're genuine.

A small sly smile played on her lips. "Well, if you don't want to, that's fine, although the arms master –"

"What about him?" I interrupted, suddenly alert.

"Well, he had suggested that after we show them that Kyrria is gifted in the arts, we could show them we're also gifted in the combat arts by letting their sons challenge my daughter, but if you don't want to play, then…"

"No, I'll play, I'll play," I quickly amended, knowing she was baiting me, but I didn't care. Most of those boys were stuck up, haughty prigs who thought all girls were good for were batting their eyelashes and kissing. I was dying to show them wrong.

Mother smiled smugly. "I thought you might change your mind. Well, I'll see you at dinner. Don't forget your guitars," she added blithely over her shoulder as she walked away, still smirking. Sometimes she still acted more like a child than me. (Yes, hard to believe, I know)

I walked back into my room, picked up my guitar, and started playing in a minor key.

"What's the matter?"

"Matter? Oh, _nothing's_ the matter," I replied through gritted teeth, holding my pick tighter in my fingers so the strings would vibrate better and produce an even louder noise.

"Val," he said, grabbing my hand to stop me playing, "you're playing in a minor key and not even playing a song. Something's the matter."

I sighed. He knew me too well. "My mum got me to play in front of everyone after dinner tonight."

Shean looked confused. He dropped my hand to scratch his head. "But I thought you _liked_ playing in front of people?"

"I _do._ Just not when it's to promote Kyrria and for that reason alone."

Shean sighed and looked heavenward. "Oh boy, not again."

"Though, I do get to beat up those pretty boy sons of all those dignitaries, who pride themselves so much on never being beaten. _Hah_. That's because everyone in their kingdom _lets_ them win because they _have_ to. Let them try fencing with a girl and lets see their egos go from hero to _zero_." I knew I had an evil grin and a glint in my eyes, and that was fine with me. That's exactly what those boys would see before they went down.

Shean looked up at the ceiling and closed his eyes. "Saints preserve us. Whatever idiot let Val loose on the world with a sword…" He trailed off.

I grinned. "My mom."

He jerked back to stare at me. "Your _mom_?"

I nodded, pleased with myself. I might have to play for the good of Kyrria, but I was going to fight for the good of me. And, _boy, _was I looking forward to it.

Shean started muttering something about me and swords and violence and blood and egos and pretty boys of the court who thought they were too good for their own britches and how we were all going to die after dinner. I just laughed.

A/N: I hope you liked this chapter. I can't wait for the next chapter. I love bringing boys' egos down, heehee, especially stuck up ones. Even if it's just in a story. Anyways, if you liked it, thanks in advance for reviewing, and if you didn't, thanks for reviewing anyways. Have a wonderful day and if you see me with any sort of weapon, run for your life. I may be insane. (Wait, scratch that; I already am)

P.S. The next chapter will probably be optional again, so I'll post the twenty-third chapter along with it, which is when we'll start to see some action again. Once again, sorry this has been so slow lately, it'll speed up in a couple chapters hopefully (speaking of action scenes, not how fast I'll update, hehe).

As I've said before, I can always use more Beta Readers, especially once I get done with this and get to rewrite it. Boy, that'll be _fun_. A whole two hundred pages, probably, heehee. (I'm hoping, anyways) But yeah, I definitely looking for Beta Readers. Thanks for reading this far! And thanks to all my reviewers!


	22. Chapter Twenty two: Egos and Deflations

A/N: Reviews: Wow, glad you guys liked it! Though I'm getting tired of the stupid reviews that have nothing to do with my story (well, there's only two, but it's annoying). glares at 'Jenny' and Me'shell

Glad that most people didn't mind the wish machine. Really, you're almost jealous of Val, watrfairie? Wow, I must not be doing too bad, then! Thanks! And flamingirl, you had apologized for all the lols a while back. Feel free to use them whenever you want! I usually do too, but I decided I'd try my best to not use them and use hehes more. (would use a winkie, but is trying not to use too much chatspeak, heehee)

Also, I think you guys will like this: I'm going to do my best to start updating every Monday. And everybody applauds… silence Or not.

**Chapter Twenty-two: Egos and Deflations**

That night, we went down to dinner, bringing our guitars with us. We propped them up against the wall and sat down, me on my mother's left and Shean on my left. Dinner was quite unappetizing, as usual (but then again, after Jack in the Box, what was?). We ate it as quickly as we could force ourselves to and then we talked a bit and I daydreamed a bit about how I'd pop some egos like balloons tonight. They'd had it coming for a while and I couldn't wait.

Finally, it came time for us to play our guitars. In the time since our guitars had arrived, I had taught Shean some of the songs we sang around here, so we played a bunch of those and some of the people joined in singing, and we also played some that they'd never heard.

Then it was finally time for the ego popping. I handed my guitar to Shean, who walked back to his place at the table and my mother stood up while two servants took the stools we had been sitting on to play.

"Honored guests, I would like to make an announcement. My daughter has agreed to let any of your sons challenge her to a duel." The whole court knew the procedure for a duel, so she didn't have to explain it. "If any would like to take up the challenge, let them stand." Almost immediately, at least half the young men stood up. I grinned inwardly. I was guessing that we'd have to do half of them today and half tomorrow so that I wouldn't get overly tired and give them an advantage.

My mom gestured and the first young man stepped forwards. "Armed or unarmed?" I asked and he looked surprised at being given a choice, but recovered quickly and spoke.

"Armed."

I went back to the table and Shean handed me my sword, hilt first. It was a nice blade, made specifically so that it was light enough for duels and I could hold it with one hand. It wasn't the heavy type I'd use for real combat, but it did nicely for this sort of thing.

The boy, probably several years older than me, also got his sword and we faced off. We circled each other and then he suddenly jumped forwards and I parried.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, even my _sister_ can do better than that," I chided.

This was one of my best strategies. Most of the boys' of the court's egos were rather large (you've probably figured that out by now) and I'd found that if I goaded them, they became upset and their strategy started to slip. I myself had worked up an immunity to jibes. (three years of living with Shean will do that to you) Even if someone said I was the stupidest what-have-you alive, I'd just say 'Yep." And I'd leave it at that. After a while, even the most persistent person in the world (cough, Shean, cough) would end up leaving me alone. So now when I was insulted in fights, I didn't take offense.

True to my suspicions, his face started to turn red and he began to lose it.

"No one says that to Pheral of Yeleth," he shrieked, lunging at me. Wow, he'd buckled _way_ quicker than most. Or maybe I was just getting better. No, that was the oldest trick in the book. (not to mention the oldest line in that same book, so it was pretty old) Then again, he probably knew how old my sister was…

Our blades locked and slid down until the hilts were locked. Then with a quick movement of my wrist, I flicked my sword up his and twisted, flipping his blade away. (everyone had gone to observe from a little room that was specially made for that, since this was were many proper duels were fought. The servants had also cleared away the tables too, since everyone was done)

I put my sword point to his throat, far enough away that he wouldn't gut himself accidentally or something, and his posture slackened a bit. "Give up?" He sighed loudly and nodded. Everyone in the room applauded. The boys all looked very surprised (except Shean, of course), and Pheral was _definitely_ deflated. One down… however many more to go. The next challenger stepped out of the box room that everyone was in and Pheral went in (probably to be comforted by his Daddy for being beaten by a girl).

This young man, Selven, was a bit younger than Pheral, but looked tougher.

"Armed or unarmed?" I asked, giving him a once-over to judge how hard he'd be. He'd be a good match, but I was certain I could do it.

"Unarmed." He grinned nastily. He did have a good fighter's form, I noted as we squared off. Probably didn't like swordplay as much.

We circled each other, feet moving in mirror images. Suddenly he lunged and I flipped him over my hip. Well, I tried to, but he managed to foil it enough to not fall on his back. We started to circle again. We circled some more. And kept circling. Getting tired of this, I made a move. He countered it and used a move very similar to what I'd pulled on him. Not expecting a counter and then a flip in such quick succession, I ended up on my back, but had enough sense to continue rolling into a forward roll and flipped back up to my feet, not counting as a down.

We circled some more. I kept my hands at the ready, but near my sides. (my reflexes were fast enough that I'd still be able to get them up to block in most cases) But I noticed that _his_ hands were out in front of him so that he could grapple quickly if needed.

Suddenly he thrust towards me, probably hoping to catch me unawares and flip me again. My hands shot out like snakes, crossed at the wrists, grabbed his, and I spun under my arms, Selven not managing to spin with me. I spun under them again the same way, twisting again so that my hands were crossed at the wrists again, only now my left wrist was on top of my right, and Selven went down, unable to twist in time. The count went by quickly and he was out. Someone came and helped him back into the observers box. (We had gotten tired of dodging blades that got flipped at the end of duels, like I'd done to Pheral, so Dad had the observers box made, and it seemed to work well enough)

There were several more sword duels and a couple hand-to-hand combat matches, and I won all of them. Some of the adult men wanted to try against me, but Mom wouldn't let them, though _I_ would have been perfectly willing to try against them. Everyone was finally sufficiently frightened of me and didn't challenge anymore and everyone came to sit back down at the tables, which had been brought back in for dessert. Bored with the talk and quickly done with my dessert, I went back to my chambers and Shean soon joined me. We laughed about the duels and matches, and finally ran out of things to talk about and just sat there for a while.

I sighed. "Do you think they'll get anyone to go after the Stones? I've told you the stories; you know how dangerous it'll be. Do you think anyone will be willing to go up against those kind of odds, especially the champions from the other kingdoms, who could very well say, 'Why should I risk my neck for a country that's not my own'?" Even with the bravest knight in our kingdom, or another, I wasn't sure they'd want to do it. Shean put an arm around me and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"'Never tell me the odds'," he murmured. I tried to grin. It didn't spread too far.

"I don't think they'll all see it Han's way, Shean."

He shrugged. "Well, look at it this way: we may not be their country, but if we fall, that makes it all the easier for the enemy to push towards their kingdoms. If we don't all come together _now_, we'll all be taken down one at a time."

"What's this 'we'?" I asked, this time grinning for real as I looked up at him. "I thought you'd probably go back home now that you can."

Shean sighed. "I'm going to miss my parents, but like you said, I _do_ have a way to go home now, and I can use it as many times as I want, as long as I give a good length of time between each visit, say at least six months to a year or something like that. I'd like to go back, but I want to stay with you more."

I smiled and snuggled back into his shoulder. "I love you," I murmured.

"I know."

"You know, I think we're way too obsessed with Star Wars, don't you think?"

I heard Shean chuckle. "Yeah. But it's fun. Especially the weird looks we get when we get too obsessed around other people."

I snickered, remembering some of the great odd looks we'd gotten in our time. (we considered being called weird a compliment) "Yeah, I love that."

"Yes, I know you do, Mrs. Solo Fel."

"_Hey_." I sat up and punched his shoulder.

"What was that for?" He protested, rubbing the place my fist had connected with.

"You know I hate it when you say it like that!"

"But I thought you _wanted_ to be Mrs. Solo Fel!"

"Not when you use that tone, _Colonel_."

"Yes, _sir_."

By now we were both laughing. This was one of our longest ongoing arguments. We always ended up laughing. Shean got up and stuck one of my Celtic CDs, The Best of Clannad, into the player and pressed play. He fast forwarded it to the second track, Second Nature, and stood up, taking my hand and pulling me off my bed.

"Come on, dance with me," he coaxed. I laughed, knowing we couldn't do step dance to it (we'd tried and found that you can't step dance to most songs with words), but we always sang to it and played air guitars. After the song was done, Shean fast forwarded to the fourth track, a slip jig (it had words, but we could dance to it), and we proceeded to do one of our slip jigs. We were doing a two-hand when there came a knock at the door. I shut off the CD player and Shean threw a blanket around it (too hard to explain it to other people) and I opened the door. When my Mom came in, Shean was sitting on the bed messing with his guitar and mine was sitting on the bed.

"Oh, I thought I heard you playing," she said as she stepped inside and I closed the door. "Was that you singing?"

I tried to look sheepish. "Well…" I demurred, scuffing my boots on the floor.

She smiled. "That's okay, I won't make you embarrass yourself."

There was a pause. "Did you want to talk to me or something?" I asked.

"Oh, right," she cried as if she'd forgotten why she'd come in here. "Um, could I talk to you alone." I started to get uneasy. What could she want to talk to me about?

"Um… is it something _absolutely_ confidential that if Shean heard, could endanger the whole kingdom?"

Mom looked at her lap as if trying to decide, then nodded slowly.

"Okay." Shean got up and I followed him to the door. Except when he left, so did I.

"Wait; Avalla, _where_ are you going?"

I looked up at my mother with mock innocence. "Well, if it's something that could fall into enemy hands and endanger us all, I'm just as likely to accidentally spill it as Shean, so I figured I shouldn't hear it, either."

She glared at me for a moment, then sighed. "All right, _fine_. Shean may come as well," she growled, but I caught her thought. _How did I end up with such a contrary daughter? I guess she has a bit too much of me in her. I feel sorry for whoever she finally decides to marry. Hopefully she'll at least like him and not make _too_ much trouble._

I almost snorted, but kept it to myself. Why did these flashes of insight come so randomly? I wished I could _choose_ when I wanted them, or at least, choose when I wanted to hear them and just put up with the random flashes. But I knew that I probably wouldn't marry for love, like Mom hoped. It was too much to ask for Shean to take up a kingship I knew he didn't want, no matter how much he denied it. I knew I wasn't trained well enough to be queen (well, I'd had all that nonsense and training when I was younger, but I'd hated most of it, or at least all the court functions, and I doubted I'd like the real thing any better), so I'd probably be best off finding some young noble or prince who had leadership abilities and not too much of an ego that I didn't mind too much (did one exist?) and marry him. It wouldn't be an ideal life, but Shean could go back to Washington and I could do my best to make the best of life.

I quickly shoved away these morbid thoughts and back to the present. We had come back into my room and Shean had closed the door. I sat down on the bed.

"So, what's so secret that you didn't want Shean to hear?" I asked, clasping my hands under my chin and resting my head on them.

Mom sighed and sat down at my desk and put her head in her right hand. "You both know about our current situation." We both nodded. She had to be referring to the Stones. "Well, we have gotten replies back from every knight, champion or no, from every allied kingdom, and even those merely _considering_ allying with us, and…" I cut in as she trailed off, knowing where this was leading.

"And none of them want to go on the quest for the Stones," I stated. Mom looked troubled, but nodded.

"And now we have almost no chance," she continued, bringing her left hand up to join her right and letting them turn to cover her face with a hopeless sigh. She quickly regained her composure and clasped them in her lap, continuing. "Why do we have almost no chance, you may ask?" Hit the nail on the head. "Well, without the instantaneous contact of the Stones, we can't warn our allies of incoming attacks. We have to rely on couriers, which can take days, even riding a good horse, depending on how far away the message must go, or we have to use messenger birds, which are faster, but we can only send messages, nothing else, like we could with couriers. And once we use a bird to go to it's home roost, we can't use it again. So, since we're going to have a long, hard fight ahead of us, and not much chance, it would appear, Val, much as I regret having to do this…" I started to get a sinking in my stomach. "I'm sending you as far away from the fighting as I can."

"_What_?" I screeched. Mother had obviously been expecting my reaction, because she only flinched a little bit.

"Val, it's for your own good. I'm sending you to an old shepherd and his wife far away in the mountains in Keln. The shepherd and his family won't know who you are, just that you're a nobleman's daughter. And your dogs should like the mountains and the sheep," she added as if that would placate me.

"_Mother_. Cyd's going to have _puppies_. She can't run beside _horses_ for miles and miles, for crying out _loud._"

"Ah, but you'll be in a normal coach, with normal people, so she can ride with you and she won't have to walk. So can your male."

"I'm going with her," Shean abruptly decided.

Mother waved absently at him. "Yes, yes, we already worked that out. We already knew you'd be going."

Shean grinned. She'd already figured out that he liked to try to follow me everywhere. Well, at least she'd figured _something_ out. I was getting completely exasperated with this. _Where_ had my mother gone? The mother who would let me sneak cookies from the kitchen, and sometimes come with me and giggle and stumble over explanations when the cook caught us? The mother who had let me stay up late and hadn't reprimanded me when I dodged sewing lessons to go for rides with the boys? The mother who… and then it hit me. Geez, I was so _stupid._ Why didn't I see it before? She had lost me once, so now she was going to keep me so protected that I was going to go mad. And I knew I _would_ go mad if this kept up. I needed to _do_ something. I decided I'd think about it when Mother left.

"We won't be able to write, in case someone traces the letters, but I know you'll be safe." I barely heard her. Seemingly satisfied with my silence, Mother got up and left. Once she had shut the door behind her, Shean gave me a hug and left too. I fell onto my pillows and cried.

A/N: Hope that wasn't too lame. Okay, I have a question. (well, it's sort of a question, and it's sort of not a question and… oh, forget it) Anyways, I'm trying my best _not_ to end up making this into one of those stories where the royal forgets everything and goes on a Grand Adventure. I'm trying to give Val logical, plausible, viable reasons to do what she does. Am I doing a good job?

Also, I may be changing the website to Freewebs 'cause Bravenet is being a brat with my HTML. (Anyone know Java or CSS that they could teach me, heeheehee? Well, actually, if you do, that would be SO great, but… yeah) Still trying to figure out what I can do, so it may be the end of the month before I get it up fully. Also, anyone who'd like to give me feedback on the site too would be more than welcome, heehee.

Also, (once I figure out how) I'm hoping to put up a clip of me reading an excerpt from the first chapter or something (I'm an actress, and I have a knack for voices, or so I'm told) and if people like it, I might do the whole thing… or something. Anyone know how to upload an audio clip? I think I have the way to put it up on my website (I _think_. I'm not sure if it's just for music clips or what. So I think. Not that that means much…), but I don't know how to get it up so you guys can listen to it on RealPlayer or Windows Media Player or whatever. If you know, please tell me. Thanks! You guys **_ROCK_**!


	23. Chapter Twenty three: Choices and Plans

A/N: 

flammingirl – Yes, the Stones should have been explained at least a bit. I'll go over the story again and double check, just in case though

Guinevere-971 - Gasp! You might? (know how to record the voice, that is) Oh, that'd be great! And even if you don't, that's more than fine! Thanks.

Chapter Twenty-three: Choices and Plans 

As I cried, I thought about what I could do. What _could_ I do? As I saw it, I had two choices:

1) I could go meekly to the shepherd's cottage and stay there until either the war was over and we'd won, or until the enemy cut down everything in it's way and made it to us, cut us down, and moved on.

2) I could do what no one else would do and go after the Stones.

I weighed my choices carefully.

For the first choice, I knew I would probably be safe for a time, but what of the time when the enemy finally made it to us. I'd have scant chance of defending myself from an army in a mountain shepherd's cottage.

My second choice had good pros, but not so good cons. It would be a journey full of danger and risk, but if I pulled it off, even to a small extent, the results would be enormously beneficial. If my parents found out… I wasn't sure what they would do. But it would be worth it. I could figure out a good plan to keep that from happening. How…

A light bulb hit my head. Of course, _idiot_. A _decoy._ Like Amidala had. I'd find a girl who could pass as me if you only had a description to go by. I'd find someone with brown hair, blue eyes, fair skin, and normal features. I'd bring along all the money I could scrounge up and pay her and her family well. I'd fill her in on all the details I knew about this trip. (and any big things she needed to know about my life, like what happened in Washington, though she probably knew about much of my life in Kyrria before Washington, since most commoners heard at least the big things about their royals, and I could give her all my little quirks) Ah, I'd write it up in a journal, and she could pretend to write about her journey, but she could really be studying my notes. Oh, this would be _perfect_. Well, as long as my parents didn't find out.

But Mother had said that we wouldn't be able to send letters, so I was safe there. And the shepherd and his family would only know I was a nobleman's daughter, so she probably would only need all these facts for any soldiers that were coming along. I'd work out the details later, but if I insisted on wearing a veil (on the pretense of disguising who I was. Mother would most likely agree), and then on the road, I caught laryngitis or something, then I wouldn't have to talk for a while, either. Shean would have to be told, but I would tell him at the last minute or leave a note. Yes, a note would probably be better. It'd make it harder for him to follow me.

I could smuggle all of my weapons and armor along somehow, too. I'd stick my trunk full of things in at the last moment and the servants probably wouldn't notice. And I could insist that Switchfoot (my gelding, and no, I did not name him, so he's not named after the band, unfortunately) come with so I'd have something to ride in the mountains. Switchfoot was a good horse, as close to a war steed as I'd probably get for a while, being so small. He was big and contrary, and we got on well enough.

Now I was ready to get everything together. I felt horrible about disappearing again, but hopefully no one would notice for a long time, and hopefully by then, I'd have already started sending the Stones back. (oops, I'd have to work out how I'd do that later)

But at least I was doing something worthwhile that would help my kingdom, maybe even other kingdoms.

With my plan as well thought out, I went about my business as usual… or so I hoped it seemed to everyone else. In reality, I was smuggling armor and weapons up to my room and packing the trunk. I talked Mother into letting me bring Switchfoot. (I'd decided that I'd tell the coachman I was dropping him off to his owner before we left the town I'd find my double in) I started writing in my 'journal' and did pretty well. I'd decided I'd write in it every day so it wouldn't seem abnormal for me to suddenly start writing in it, and I'd look in every town for a girl similar enough to me, and once I found her, I'd give her the journal, tell the coachman that I had to give Switchfoot to his owner, and I'd switch places.

Everything was going according to the plan.

The day finally came for me to leave. I pretended to be mad and sulked, but in reality, I was rather excited. I was finally going on a real adventure!

As a little girl, I'd wanted to be a knight, and for the past six months or so before I turned fifteen, the arms master and my other teachers kept commenting that if it weren't for the fact that I was a girl (and the whole princess thing), I could probably try for knighthood. I knew it would be very hard, but I had to try. I had to know if I really could have been a knight like I'd wanted to be.

I refused to talk to my mother, which was understandable, apparently, as she didn't try to press me to talk. I just climbed into the coach once everything was loaded (my trunk of armor had been packed and I'd insisted on my bow and quiver, supposedly in case we got attacked or something). We had been taken into the nearest village the night before, where a coach was due the next morning, and when it came, we took everything out of the inn, and in this way, no one, even the coachman, knew I was the princess, as they would have had I started my journey at the palace.

When everything was finally loaded, we set out. I tried to keep up my facade of fuming. Luckily, I'm an actress, and a pretty decent one, if I do say so myself, and it seemed to be working, because even Shean had only tried to get me into a discussion about Pernese dragons or whatever it was. After I snapped at him that I didn't want to talk, he left me alone, at least for a while. I started to write more in my 'journal'. I felt someone watching me. I looked over to see Shean trying to look over my shoulder. When he saw me, he quickly straightened and pretended to be peering out the window. We were the only people inside the coach as of yet, so I didn't mind asking him just what _exactly_ he thought he was doing.

"Oh, looking out the window, watching the country pass by, you know," he said, then started whistling again.

"Yeah, whatever. Just don't try to read my diary again. It's rude." Phew, that had been close. If he'd seen what I had been writing…

I turned so that my back was against the wall so I was sitting on the seat lengthwise and pulled my legs up in front of me. This way, Shean couldn't peek again, and it was more comfortable anyways.

When I stopped writing, I was on speaking terms with Shean again (I didn't want to have to be so snappy, but he'd suspect something was wrong otherwise).

I didn't find anyone who could double for me that night. Or the next. Or the night after that. I had decided not to try to find someone the fourth night, being very tired, so I just went to the inn instead of going to 'shop' like I had before. We ate dinner in silence (we had been joined in the coach by an elderly gentleman and a young married couple in the past three days, though we didn't talk to them much since they weren't interested in Star Wars or anything like that).

Once I was done eating, I left the others and went up to the room I had paid for. I collapsed onto the bed, folded my hands behind my head and stared at the ceiling. There came a timid knock at the door and I called for the knocker to come in. A maid who looked to be in her mid-teens came in and set down some towels next to the bed stand. She brushed some of her golden-brown hair away from her face as she straightened up.

"Be ya needin' anything else, miss?"

I shook my head and she turned to go. Wait… when she had asked me if I needed anything else, I'd noticed she had blue eyes… and fair skin. Blue eyes… fair skin… golden brown hair…

"Wait a moment," I called, sitting up just as she was turning the doorknob. She turned back.

"Yessum?"

"Could you come here a moment?"

She looked puzzled, but came back over as I swung my feet over the edge of the bed and stood up. I looked her over as she clasped her hands behind her back and looked uncomfortable. About my height, features close enough to mine that…

"Do you have any family…"

"San'y. No'm, miss. I was found as a little 'un wandering the streets and the innkeeper here brought me in. I've been-a workin' 'ere ivver since."

Drat, there was one problem. "Is that your usual accent?"

"This?" She looked surprised. "No. I just use that because people seem to think that's how servants are supposed to talk." She had dropped the accent. It had been _very_ good. Now she sounded enough like me to pass, though. "Why?"

"How would you like to go to the mountains and make some money while you're at it, San'y?"

Her eyebrows shot up. "I'd like it very much, but… I'm not sure what you mean."

"Well, this is how it is: I need someone who can pass themselves off as me. Would you be able to do it? I can pay you if you can stay up in the mountains until you get a message to come back to the p – my home." I caught myself just in time to avoid saying 'palace'.

San'y grinned. "I'm a good actress. I could do it."

"_Great_," I cried, smiling broadly. "Is there anyone who would be able to take you place here? I can give the innkeeper a bit for the inconvenience."

"Sure, if there's money involved, he can find someone else," she smirked. Good. Greedy innkeepers were always easier to bribe.

"All right, here's the deal. I'll go talk to the innkeeper, and then I'll come back up here and tell you everything you need to know."

San'y nodded, looking very excited. If she'd been found as a toddler, she'd probably never been out of this little village, so this was probably a big adventure for her. Perfect. She'd at least have some fun.

After negotiating with the innkeeper, and eventually managing to make him take only a copper whole instead of a silver two-eighth. I went back up to my room and found San'y patiently waiting for me.

"Okay, here's what you need to know…"

I took most of the night explaining my plan to her and all the big details she'd need to know and giving her the notebook. The coachman had already told me that we were going to have a late start the next morning because we had to get some supplies that had been ordered by someone in a town we would be at in the next day, so I took advantage of this to go and give Switchfoot back. Once I found San'y, I had told the coachman that night that I'd be giving Switchfoot back to his owner the next morning.

I dressed in one of my tunics, pulled my hair up into a livery cap and went to the stables. San'y and I had already taken my trunk out to the back of the inn and hidden it so I could get it once the coach left.

Switchfoot wasn't too happy about leaving Filly, Shean's little mare who was Switchfoot's best friend, but I managed to convince him to come along and tied him to a hitching post behind the stables. Once a good amount of time had passed, I went back to the inn and threw a bunch of little pebbles at my room's window until San'y came and opened it and gave me the 'ready to go' sign, arrayed in my old travelling clothes, complete with the veil. I'd caught laryngitis a couple days before, so she wouldn't have to talk for several days until she 'got better'. We had drilled on not talking the night before, and also on answering to Val, which was the name that everyone had been given. I had decided she would do well enough now, and she hurried down to go have breakfast with the others. I had to wait until the others had left to have breakfast and fill my saddlebags with supplies for my trip.

The dogs had come with me, but I had made the painful decision to leave them on the coach. I was afraid that something might happen to them otherwise. And it might look too suspicious to give a horse back to it's owner in one town, and then sell a dog (or whatever I'd have had to do) in that same town. They had taken to San'y right away and I was confident they wouldn't blow our cover.

The coach finally got ready to leave and everyone left the inn. Shean had been acting a little strange, going around with his hood over his face and his head down as if he was afraid it was going to rain, even in the inn. I decided to forget it. I hoped he'd be all right and that he wouldn't blow my cover when he discovered my decoy.

When they had finally gone, I quickly went to shop around for supplies. I still had a goodly amount of money after paying San'y and the innkeeper, and I got good supplies. I already had all of my tack and armor and stuff, but I needed food and other necessities, which I purchased easily. I was finally ready and I went back to the tree where Switchfoot had been guarding my trunk (he enjoyed biting people he didn't like, which happened to include thieves).

I rapped him on the nose when he tried to bite me for trying to get to the trunk, and he sniffed me, and then ignored me, satisfied that I wasn't new, and therefore not interesting.

I put on my armor and my helmet after saddling Switchfoot and managing to get his bridle on (as well as a few scratches from his teeth). I mounted up and we were off.

A/N: Was that plan well thought out and realistic sounding enough? I'm always afraid that it'll sound too fake and everyone will just dismiss it because no one in their right mind would do something like that. (I know I've mentioned this before (and it's not like this would happen to anyone in their right mind anyways, hehe) but I can't help it)


	24. Chapter 24: Adventures and Surprises

A/N: Quick note: I know I've said this numerous times, but I'm in desperate need of Beta Readers. If you would be willing to Beta Read, if you could let me know in your review, that would be _great_. Thank you to all who have reviewed and given me some constructive criticism. It really does help.

A/N2: Sorry that this is a day late. I forgot to transfer it to the PC on Monday. Also, I think I'm going to get a Freeweb site and put up my website there. I'll post the URL once I get it up. big grin

**Chapter Twenty-four: Adventures and Surprises**

I felt more free than I'd felt since we came back to Kyrria. I wasn't subject to any more commands until I came back. No one was even going to be with me. I would definitely miss Shean and my dogs, but maybe it was better this way. I would hate to lead anyone I loved into this stupid adventure I'd decided to start just because they wanted to make sure I didn't get into trouble. I would more than likely die, and I wouldn't be able to stand it knowing someone else might die too.

I pushed these morbid thoughts away and tried to think of happier things. What _was_ happy these days? I racked my brain. I was free? Well, I still wasn't exactly free, because I was doing this out of necessity, and besides, it wasn't a joy ride.

I sighed and tried not to think of _anything_. Well, actually, I tried to summarize every single book that I'd read that I could remember well enough.

It took me half the day.

I finally stopped for the night. I reined Switchfoot in at the inn and tied him to a post. I went inside and paid for a room, food, and stabling. I went back out and took Switchfoot into the stable and left him with the groom, then went up to the room that I had paid for. A girl brought up my food a little while later and I ate and then went to sleep.

The next morning was decently clear and I got Switchfoot and set out for the next village in my itinerary. Near noon I stopped to eat in a little clearing in the forest. I tied Switch to a tree so he could graze easily and sat down on a rock to eat my sandwich. Halfway through my sandwich, I got the feeling that I wasn't the only one in the forest. I set down my bread and slowly stood up, glancing warily around. I heard a branch snap to my left. I crept over to a row of bushes and tried to peer through them. A face was staring back at me!

I pushed myself backwards and fell, screaming in surprise. I heard a scream in reply to mine. I screamed again, still trying to get over the shock. Switch whinnied, blending with the other person's scream. I was about to scream again, but got a hold of myself, panting and coughing, trying to get my breath back.

"Don't you _ever_ do that to me again, Shean Patrick O'Connor," I yelled, standing up and stalking over to the bush to find Shean flat on his back, looking like he was trying not laugh. I pushed my way through the bushes and started pounding on him. (Not too hard, just enough to make my point)

"Okay, _okay_," he cried, trying to defend himself with his hands, laughing helplessly. I stopped, but continued glaring at him.

"Hey, I thought you'd be glad to see me," he pouted, sticking out his lower lip.

"Not when you scare me so much that I _scream_," I retorted.

"Hey, I screamed too."

"Yeah, and you scream like a girl."

Shean gaped at me in mock astonishment. He gave a fake gasp. "You don't mean it. I sound like you then?" I raised a fist and he held up his hands. "Okay, I'll lay off. Cool it." Then he got a bit more serious. "What are you doing, anyways?"

I rolled my eyes. "If you're here, you probably know what I'm doing."

Shean sighed. "Yeah, and I think it's the most stupid thing in the world."

"Then why are _you_ here?"

"Because I'm the second most stupid person in the world."

"Who's the first?" I knew what the answer was, but I asked anyways.

"You."

I smacked his head.

"Let me clarify that. I'm the most stupid person in the world."

"That's better." I made sure he didn't see that I was trying not to smirk. "I'm glad you see it my way."

"No, I just don't want to get beat up."

"Shean, stop making _jokes_."

"All right, all _right_."

I stood up and glanced down at him. "Wait, where's your armor?"

"I took it off."

"Oh, good. I thought you had been stupid and hadn't brought any."

"Well, actually, I hadn't –"

"_What_?"

"No, no, no, I have some now. I just hadn't brought anything more than my hauberk, so I had to buy the rest."

I sighed. "I hope you brought a good sized purse."

He grinned. "Yep."

"I won't ask _what_ kind of work you had to do to get it, but I hope you at least brought your sword as well." He nodded. "Oh, good, I'll only have to defend you a little bit, then."

"Hey, look who's making jokes _now_," Shean protested.

I grinned. "Hey, I only told _you_ not to. I didn't say anything about me, Sir Laughs-a-lot."

"Well, _excuse_ me, Lady Knight."

"That's _Princess_ Knight to _you_. Wait, no, Lady Knight sounds better, now I think of it."

He grinned and shook his head. "Whatever." He stood up and went back to get his horse.

"So, what do we do now?"

Shean shrugged. "I guess we keep going and hope we don't get killed," he muttered as he tied his mare to the same tree as Switchfoot. He was very happy to see Filly, and he neighed as loudly as he could to let her know exactly how happy he was.

I went and got my sandwich again and we sat down on the ground. Shean explained how he'd come to be here. It turned out he'd decided to do something similar to what I'd done, not figuring out what I was up to until it was too late. He hadn't actually been following me, but since we were heading to the same place, it would appear that we had stopped in about the same place. He'd heard a noise too, and that was why he was at the same bush I had been. Then he whistled and I heard a bark. I turned on him.

"You. Brought. The. Dogs. How _could_ you?" I growled. He actually almost looked scared.

"Hey, Keegy followed me on his own. I figured he must have jumped out of the coach and followed me. He woke me up this morning 'cause I was sleeping outside. Cyd didn't come, though." Well, at least _something_ went right.

By now, Keegan was almost on top of me. Scratch that, he _was_ on top of me and I was on my back on the ground with his tongue cleaning my face. I pushed him off and absently petted him while I glared at Shean. Shean sat there for a moment and then started to fidget when I didn't look away.

"Come on, Val," he finally pleaded, "I didn't _try_ to follow you."

I sighed. "_Fine,_ but now my dog and my best friend are both in danger, and that's exactly what I _didn't_ want."

Shean raised an eyebrow. "Yeah? Well, don't think you're the only one."

I had no answer, so we sat in silence for a minute. Shean reached into his pocket, pulled something out, and started playing with it in his hands. It was a ball of some sort, but it didn't stay still long enough for me to be able to tell what exactly it was.

He finally stopped and held it in his hands. It was the little ball he'd gotten from the wish machine. He opened his mouth then shut it again.

"Val, do you think this works?" He blurted out.

I looked up. "Huh?"

"Do you think this works?" He asked again, indicating the ball.

I shrugged. "Um, I guess so."

He held the ball in the position to twist it. He sat there, looking like it was a strain just to hold it. His hands finally dropped to his lap in defeat, the ball still clutched tightly inside his fists.

"I can't do it," he cried in a tired, subdued voice. "I just can't. I know it'll work, but I'll feel so _stupid_ if it doesn't. And I have to see my family one more time, in case I die on this mission thing."

I stood up and walked over to kneel next to him. I pried the ball out of his unresisting hands and gripped it around the line that split it down the middle. "What do I say?" I murmured.

Shean put a hand on my shoulder and whispered some words. I turned the ball, but before I could say the words he had just said, there was a flash of light and we found ourselves standing at the door to the O'Connor's house. Shean staggered, clutching my shoulder, which he was still holding.

We both caught our balance and stared at each other for a moment, then Shean hugged me ecstatically.

"It works!" He crowed.

"Shh, not so loud," I admonished. "Now, what do we tell your mom?"

Shean thought for a moment. "Well, if she asks if I'll be coming back, I'll just say I'm not sure. Does that work? And I can just say we managed to get away to see them."

I nodded. "That'll work, I guess. Well, let's get this over with." I was happy to see everyone again, but I was dreading all the questions that were sure to come with it.

Shean took a breath, walked up to the door, and knocked. I ran up to stand next to him. We heard Kaet yell 'I'll get it' and then footsteps pounded down the stairs. The door opened and Kaet stood there, gaping at us. Then she found her voice.

"_Mom,_" She shrieked in a tinny, half disbelieving voice, "you might want to come see who it is."

We had to try not to laugh because she looked so funny standing there blocking the doorway, one hand on the knob, the other on the frame, staring at us, forgetting to say hello or invite us in.

More footsteps and Sylva stood behind Kaet, looking flustered, strands of hair escaping her tidy bun. Then she caught sight of Shean, pushed the door open, and gathered him into her arms, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh, Shean, Shean, Shean…" She sobbed repeatedly. I saw the tears falling down Shean's cheeks too, and I couldn't help getting a little teary myself, remembering my own reunion with my parents.

Kaet had gotten her voice back. "We thought we'd never see you again," she was yelling. "We thought you'd gone away and forgotten us; we thought you were going to go find somewhere else and never come back to see us…" She continued in that vein, repeating the same things, just with different words, but I could tell she was glad enough to see him all the same.

We finally managed to get inside. We found that it was now early spring in Washington. Time, I decided, must pass differently in our two worlds, like in Narnia, because it was still a month before spring in Kyrria.

Shean talked with his mother for a while, and then we decided to wait until his dad got home so he could say hello and good-bye to him as well. We went up to his room, which was now the guest room, and sat on the bed. We tried to talk, but ended up sitting in silence for a while until Kaet came in to break it.

She didn't even knock, just barged in as if she didn't care that we were in there and had the door closed. She pulled up the bean bag chair that Sylva had left in the room and stared at us. We stared right back. Finally she spoke.

"So, Shean, did you meet any interesting people in whatever weird place Val's Princess of?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Everyone there's kind of interesting, especially the way girls don't get to wear pants or fight or most anything that the guys can."

Kaet suddenly looked very interested. "So you've met some of the girls there. What do _they_ think of all those restrictions?"

Shean shrugged. "Val can probably tell you better than me."

"Well, most of them were raised with it and would rather find husbands anyways, so-"

Kaetlin cut me off. "I didn't ask you, Val." Shean and I exchanged glances at her snippy retort. "So, Shean, what _did_ they think of the restrictions, and what did you think of _them_?" She obviously meant the girls.

"Well, they didn't seem to care, like Val _was saying _–" he glared at her "– but most of them were a bit too lady-like for me." He rolled his eyes and I smothered a smile.

"_Most_ of them? You didn't like _any_ of them?"

"Kaet, just _what_ are you _getting_ at?" I finally exploded. I hoped she would go into law enforcement. She would make a wonderful interrogator.

Kaet put on her innocent 'who, me?' look and stared at me. "What do you mean?"

"I _mean_," I growled, "that you've been interrogating Shean about the most ridiculous subject in the _world_. What are you trying to get at?"

She shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just interested in your world." She turned back to Shean. "So can you fight with a sword now?"

Shean sighed and started answering a barrage of questions. After several minutes of Kaet grilling Shean non-stop, I was about to tell her I'd wring her neck if she didn't shut up.

"So what were the balls like?"

"Absolutely boring."

"Did you dance?"

"Yes. And we danced off-beat."

"Ooh, _we_? Did you dance with other girls, then?"

"No, Val was more fun."

"So you didn't like any of the other girls."

Shean shook his head.

"So you didn't kiss any of them," Kaet stated, pretending to pout. I was starting to get suspicious.

"No, I wouldn't kiss them if my _life_ depended on it."

"So you don't know if any of them are as good at kissing as Val is."

"No, I don't know if any of them are as good at kissing as Val is."

I smacked him on the side of the head with the heel of my hand.

"Hey, what did I do to deserve that –"

He stopped abruptly as I glared at him, realizing what he'd said. His eyes went wide and we both jumped off the bed at the same instant Kaetlin jumped off the bean bag.

"Well, I think I should be going now," she cried, running for the door. I blocked it and Shean grabbed her arm, pulling her around to face him.

"You are the most _vile, sneaky, despicable_ sibling in the _whole wide world_," he snarled, gripping her arm a bit tighter.

I crossed my arms, leaned against the door, and sighed. "Shean, give it up. She knows now; our cover's blown."

Kaet looked at me suspiciously and started to say something, but Shean beat her to it.

"Our cover's blown?" He asked, obviously confused.

"What cover?" Kaet asked a second behind him.

"Come on, Shean, we can't try to hide it. She's a smart kid; she'll figure it out sooner or later." I was just stalling so I could think of a plausible story. There was a bewildered pause.

"You mean we actually have to tell _her_ about our mission?" Shean whined, though he clearly no idea what he was talking about.

I nodded gravely. Kaetlin's eyes widened. "You guys are on a _mission_?"

I nodded, racking my brain. I finally picked something dusty out of the corner of my mind.

"We're spies."

Kaet gasped. "_Spies_?"

I nodded again. "We're spies for Kyrria. We have to pretend to be a young couple on a jaunt and scout the countryside, including our enemies' territory. I'm afraid if word of this went farther than your parents, we could be in trouble." Kaetlin nodded instinctively, her eyes still wide. "You can tell your parents about what you got Shean to say, but don't tell them about the mission, and under no circumstances are you allowed to tell _anyone_ else." Kaet shook her head, obviously still stunned. Shean glared at me. He probably didn't want her to say _anything_, but, knowing Kaet, if she didn't say _something_, she would burst. At least now we were guaranteed that our old friends wouldn't be teasing us behind our backs.

Not that it mattered, it was just fun to mess with her mind.

Shean's dad finally got home and he talked for a little while, then we went back outside, found an out of the way place to work the ball and twisted. We ended up in the clearing again, and we held onto each other for balance for a second and then sat down once we were steady again.

I had left my watch in the clearing, and when I checked it, I was surprised to see that not even ten minutes had passed, though we had been in Kent until at least six or so. I showed this phenomenon to Shean and he agreed that time must pass differently in my world than in his.

What emerged on the other side of the forest road wasn't exactly what had gone in. Instead of a girl on horseback emerging about ten minutes before a boy on horseback with a dog, two teenagers in light armor on horseback (my hair was in my helmet), accompanied by a dog, came out together and headed for the nearest village, hoping to reach it a bit before nightfall.

A/N: Okay, the trip back was kind of pointless (yes, before you tell me that I could have just said that Shean went back and said goodbye to his family, I _know_, but that scene with Kaet was just too funny (to me, anyways) to pass up). But from here on, the action should pick up a bit (need more Betas to make sure it stays that way! Please… puppy eyes please). From here on, it'll probably be kind of not Ella Enchanted 'cause I'm going to be rewriting it and setting it in my own world anyways (I'll try to put ogres in to make it a bit more fan ficcy, but other than that, I dunno how much it'll be like the book), but I'll do my best. Any ideas for Ella Enchanted stuff would be cool. There'll be a surprise in the next chapter or the chapter after that, at the latest. Have fun! Thanks to my reviewers!


	25. Chapter 25: Guardians and Remembering

A/N: Responses to reviews: 

Guinevere-971 – Ooh, good question… Um… I guess because it was a fun idea, but also because Mrs. O'Connor would probably then get very excited and not want them to leave because she'd want to be there if they had kids or something, and would want them to come back a LOT when they left, and would want them to tell her everything about Kyrria and would freak out when she found out it was in another world and stuff. Hmm, I dunno if that sounded plausible, hehe. Tell me if it didn't.

Gayle – For Beta Readers, pretty much what I need is someone to: catch typos/errors that I missed; tell me if something doesn't seem right, like for example, how easily Val adjusted to the US, etc. and, if you have ideas, what I could change to make that better; that kind of stuff. Pretty much just what you feel you want to do. I guess you could call it flaming for some of the stuff, though as long as it's not said in a mean way, I call it constructive criticism, heehee. I think that's mostly what it is. Let me know if you try to email me, or (if you do this), you could post your email address and I'll email you for more info. Thanks.

Chapter Twenty-five: Guardians and Remembering 

We rode into the village just before dark, as we had hoped. We dismounted in front of the inn and I gratefully pulled off my helmet, looking forward to being able to take off the rest of the hot, sweaty armor in our room.

We walked inside and went to the counter the innkeeper was standing behind. We waited politely until he turned around.

"Ah, may I help you?"

I nodded. "Yes. Could we have a room and food and stabling for two horses?"

He nodded and named a reasonable price. I nodded back.

"That's fine. Oh, could we get an extra cot, too?"

He looked a little surprised. "Do you have another person coming with you?"

Shean and I looked at each other out of the corner of our eyes. "Um, no, we'd just like two beds, please," I replied uncomfortably. This guy was acting quite odd.

He shrugged and went off to find people to get the horses and get a cot up to the room. Shean and I went to sit down at a table and ordered our food.

"What was _that_ all about?" Shean whispered once while we were waiting for the food.

I shrugged. "I dunno. Guess he's just weird."

Shean shrugged. I had some ideas of what made that innkeeper act like that, but I didn't feel that we didn't need to discuss them in the dining room of the crowded inn.

Our food finally came and we at it quickly, and then the innkeeper called a boy to show us to our room. We found that it did indeed have the extra cot we had requested, to my relief. We put it about five feet away from the other one and then took turns changing into our night clothes behind a little privacy screen we rigged up with a blanket. We collapsed into bed and were soon asleep.

We left early the next morning, having the first breakfast of anyone in the inn (much to the cook's displeasure). We got the horses, Killian running at our heels, tacked the horses up and mounted to ride away into the sunset. (Well, it was actually a sunrise, but whatever)

That afternoon, we stopped by a large rock to eat, and I finished my lunch quickly and was waiting for Shean to finish his, when a thought struck me. I reached into my boot and pulled out a very sharp little knife. I sighed. I wasn't going to be able to do it myself; I would have to ask Shean for help. It was going to be interesting to see his reaction to my necessary task.

I held the knife behind me and went to sit down next to him. "Shean, when you look at me, what do you see?"

He looked up, startled at the question. He probably thought I was fishing for compliments. "Um, I see the most beautiful princess in the world who asks very odd questions." He started to lean towards me, but I put my knees up to my chest, my elbows on my knees and my head on my hands and looked up at the sky.

"See, that's kind of a problem." I looked back over at him to gauge his reaction: definitely confusion.

"Um, I don't get it. Is it a riddle or a joke or something?"

I shook my head. "No. But if you see the most beautiful _princess_ in the world –" I made sure I emphasized 'princess' "– then we have a problem."

"_Why_?" Yes, I decided, _definitely_ confused.

"Okay, lets say you were walking around in your home village and you saw a girl in armor that looks _exactly_ like your princess, and she's with a boy and a couple horses and a dog that looks like nothing you've ever seen before?"

"I'd think that she was beautiful, he was handsome, and they were going somewhere."

"Stop flattering yourself. What would you think if you were from Ferrel and you saw a girl in armor that looks _exactly_ like the Kyrrian princess, and she's with a boy and a couple horses and a dog that looks like nothing you've ever seen before?"

"I would think she was beautiful, he was handsome, and – that she was a good target for an assassin." He put his face in his hands and groaned.

"Now, what would you think if you saw two plain-looking boys in armor, a couple horses, and a dog that looks like nothing you've ever seen before?"

"I'd think that the little one was cute and the bigger one was ravishingly handsome and that they were going somewhere."

"I told you to stop flattering yourself. Besides, I'd still be beautiful, right?" I asked, teasing him.

He started. "_You_? You're not thinking of – of – of…" I nodded and he shook his head. "No. No, no, _no_. If you cut your hair, not only will you cut your head or your neck and bleed all over, but I'll never speak to you again."

I nodded to show my agreement and he sighed in relief. "Exactly my view. That's why _you're_ going to do it for me."

He stared at me. "No. I refuse. You can't make me."

One gag, two pieces of rope, tied hands and feet, and a knife six inches from his neck later, he agreed to help me.

What came away from the boulder about forty-five minutes after noon was different from what sat down for lunch there. There was still a nineteen-year-old boy with shoulder-length blond hair and ice blue eyes riding a silver mare with a little dog trotting at the horses heels, but there was an eighteen-year-old boy with golden-brown hair in a Luke Skywalker haircut and blue eyes on a big palomino gelding riding along with them. After that, we didn't get any more odd looks from innkeepers when we requested an extra cot, and we were less likely to be targets for assassins from Ferrel.

We had been riding for several days when I figured we probably needed to talk about how we'd retrieve the Stones from their Guardians. When we stopped for lunch, I decided to bring up the subject.

"Hey, Shean, you've heard about the Stones, right?"

"Sort of. Well, I've heard vague hints and clues, but not where they are or anything like that."

"Well, I thought we should probably decide how we should get them away from their Guardians so we're prepared when we get there."

Shean nodded. I had most of the story of where the Stones were and who held them memorized, as it had been a favorite bedtime story when I was little, and my mother would tell it in segments, telling a part of it each night until she eventually finished the whole tale. She had always added her own parts after telling about where each Stone was now located, a bit about a brave knight who outwitted the Guardian of the Stone and gotten it back to return triumphant. Unfortunately, those were the parts I was a little hazy on, so we'd have to figure it out ourselves.

"So do you remember what the first Guardian is?"

"Ye… no, nope," he said, shaking his head. I rolled my eyes.

"Shean, you're a nut."

He grinned. "I know. So, what _is_ the first Guardian?"

I sighed. "A basilisk. I don't even know if there _are_ any around here. Though I guess that we're kind of leaving civilization now, and we'll probably have to either beg shelter in barns for the night or sleep out in the open. So when we beg for barns, we can ask if there's a basilisk lair around here."

Shean nodded. "Okay, that works. So, what do we do to get the Stone from him?"

I shrugged. "I dunno."

He stared at me and then burst out with, "What do you _mean_ you don't know? I thought you said you knew the story forwards and backwards!"

I sighed. "I _do._ I didn't say I knew how to get the Stones, though. No one's ever accomplished that. No one who has gone up against the Guardians has come back. And believe me, there are many brave men who have tried. It's not going to be easy, but we can _do_ it. Besides, the locals may know something," I added hopefully.

Shean scowled and turned away, pulling his hand up close to his chest to eat his sandwich, showing his displeasure. I sighed, but let him brood in peace.

That night we hadn't come upon a village, so we had to camp out. The next night, however, we stumbled upon a village around dinnertime, a little before dark. We had decided to see if we could barter food and lodging for entertainment since we had brought our guitars like travelling minstrels. As it happened, we found a family that would house us, and we gave a performance and every family that came brought a little bit of food in order to be able to watch, which worked well for everyone. It worked so well that Shean and I decided to see if we could arrange this in all the rest of the villages we came to.

After our informal concert, we chatted with our hosts in their family room in front of the fire.

"We're gathering local legends on our travels," I began, addressing the parents. The three children sat at their feet. "Are there any monsters or such in this area?"

To my surprise, the youngest kid, a little girl of about ten piped up. "Yes, all of the kids tell stories about the big lizard that lives in a cave. He's all gray and his skin is pebbly and he can turn you to stone just by _looking_ at you," she added, obviously in awe of this mystic beast.

Her father put a restraining hand on her head to stop the flow of words. "The basilisk is just a story, that's all."

"Ah, but that's what we're after," Shean reminded him.

"Please, go on," I added, hoping the little girl would continue. She looked up at her father, who shrugged. She grinned and turned back to us.

"Well, they all say that if you're out near the cave and the pebbly lizard is near, you can put it in a trance by making soft music or singing a soft song. That way, you can keep singing as you walk away and the lizard won't remember what happened and will forget you were even there. They say that there's lots of statues of people who didn't know that near his cave, though."

I nodded, filing this away. "Thank you. That's a _wonderful_ story. I'm sure that everyone will be glad to hear it when we tell it in the other villages we're going to visit."

The girl grinned ear to ear, obviously feeling important for having been able to supply us with such excellent material. I smiled back.

We talked with the family for a while longer before going to bed. We had heard some other local stories, but nothing of importance to the basilisk. Luckily, what we _had_ learned would help at least a little. I was glad now that we played acoustic guitars instead of electric, since that would make it easier to play music for the basilisk when we found it. Shean and I talked about this for a while before falling asleep to dream (well, in my case, at any rate) about seven-foot tall gray lizards and stones with pictures inside.

A/N: I hope that wasn't too short. The next chapter should (hopefully) be shorter. And a quick note: I got to the end of my reserves of extra chapters, so if I'm a bit late uploading the next chapter, which I'll get right to work on starting (gotta get back in the habit of getting on my laptop every day), please don't get too mad. Thanks.


	26. Chapter 26: Unexpected Developments

A/N: Okay, before I begin, I would like to say just one thing: who the Sithing _heck_ is 'Fluffy'? (Must… not use… chat smilie… to express… confusion) I read half of the first Harry Potter book and promptly threw it away. (Literally. Mainly because I'm a Christian, and besides, I find Lord of the Rings to have MUCH better wizards, clearly demonstrated by a list comparing Gandalf/HP that another LotR-loving-HP-hating friend and I made. Mwuhahahaha – oh, sorry.) Ahem. Anyways, the only book I've ever read that has a basilisk in it is the Tortall series by Tamora Pierce (You _will_ read them. This is not a Jedi mind trick), so the only basilisk I've ever heard of is Tkaa. (And if you've never read the Daine books, you probably have no _idea_ what I'm talking about, huh?) I had to think of a weakness for _my_ basilisk, since I can't have a kangaroo-pouched lizard just fry Val and Shean into stones (I'd have to end the story there, and what fun would that be?). For no apparent reason, I was thinking of some of those Looney Tunes clips that they still show on Cartoon Network where Daffy is able to calm Taz with music, so I figured I'd use that.

Anyways, I guess the point of the above super long and rather pointless monologue is that I have no _idea_ what you're talking about if you ever reference HP, so I definitely didn't steal it from Rowling, heehee.

P.S. Sorry 'bout the Jedi mind trick comment. I just got my new Star Wars Insider magazine issue last week bounces up and down in chair, and one of the ads had that comment in there and I just _had_ to use it. Heehee.

**Chapter Twenty-six: Unexpected Developments**

We had breakfast with our hosts the next morning before setting out once again to find this cave the little girl had told us about. She had explained how to reach the cave, and it appeared to be a rather long ways off. We probably wouldn't reach it until just a little while before dark if we started now, just after dawn. We'd have to stop for lunch along the way again, too.

Knowing this, we set off as soon as we could, thanking our hosts before we left. We did indeed end up stopping for lunch at the edge of a stand of trees that stood off the side of the road. We tied the horses to trees to graze and propped ourselves up against the trees, rummaging through our saddlebags for anything good to eat.

We talked for a while as ate, then I got up to see if I could find any water for the horses and for the thermoses Shean and I had gotten from the O'Connors. I had thought I had seen a stream or something from the road, so I listened for the sound of water. I soon heard it and found it where I thought it probably would be, at the other end of the trees. It was a small stream, but clear and looked like it would be fine to drink.

I crouched down next to the stream, holding the thermoses on their sides facing opposite the flow of the stream so the water would run into them. I started to stand up, having screwed the lid on the first thermos and placing it on the bank, and having the second thermos and cap ready to screw on. I screeched in surprise and, by reflex, threw the water from the thermos into the face of an old man who was suddenly sitting across from me, crouched over the stream and looking at me. He closed his eyes as the water flew at him, but didn't move, except to wipe the water out of his face.

Immediately apologetic, I crouched back down, apologizing profusely.

"No, no, it's all right. I've gotten worse from others," the old man replied in a surprisingly youthful voice for someone so old, using a corner of the big robe he was wearing to mop his of the last of the water.

Now that I knew he wasn't offended, I gave him a good look. He looked old, and yet he didn't look old. He looked… ageless. Like Gandalf from Lord of the Rings, I guess. In fact, that was something like what he looked like. Not his face, maybe (except for the fact that the both looked to be about the same age), but the way he was dressed. He had on the kind of robes that I, as a fantasy fanatic, would term 'wizards robes'. He had white hair that fell a few inches past his shoulder, and a neatly trimmed white beard, once again similar to Gandalf's, only strengthening my guess that he was a wizard of some sort or another.

"Um, w-would it be rude of me to ask who you are? I'm Vallem." I used the alias that Shean and I had made up so that I had a boy's name, but he could still call me Val so that he wouldn't slip up and blow our cover.

The old man stood up, but I took my thermos again and started to fill it.

"Of course. I am Relakk."

"Are you a, um, a… wizard?" I stuttered. I couldn't believe how badly I was stumbling over my words. I had read about _so_ many wizards in the fantasy books I'd gotten from the library in Washington, but I'd never thought I might meet a _real_ one. Oh, sure, there were some at RingCon, but they were all fakies dressing up as Gandalf or Saruman, and that didn't count.

The old man almost looked offended for a moment, then must have seen the awe in my face and his eyes softened. "No, I'm not a wizard." He snorted. "The very idea! I am a mage. Wizards are a bunch of weaklings who claim to be a branch of magery." He shook his head. I filed away the fact that wizards were not a favorite of mages'.

I finished filling the thermos and screwed the cap on when Relakk spoke again. "What are you doing in these parts, boy?"

I hid a grin as I stood up, even though I already knew that my disguise worked fine. "I'm travelling with a friend. We're in search of a basilisk that's supposed to be in these parts."

I saw something in his eye when he replied, but I didn't think anything of it. "Would you introduce me to your friend, Vallem?"

I nodded. "Come on, this way."

I led the way back to the other edge of the trees.

"Shean," I yelled, "oh, Sheanie. We've got a _visitor_."

Shean's head popped out from over the top of a bush. "Oh, hey, Val. Who's this?"

"He's… um… um… uh…" I snapped my fingers, trying to remember the mage's name.

"Relakk," the mage supplied, extending his hand to Shean. "Glad to meet you Shean."

Shean took the proffered hand, but looked suspicious. "How'd you know my name?"

Relakk grinned. "She was just shouting it to the world a few minutes ago." Shean looked relieved, but I started. How did the mage know I was a girl? My voice was naturally kind of deeper and scratchier than most girls' voices, so I only disguised it a little, and with my chainmail on, most people wouldn't have been able to tell right away that I was a girl if their life _depended_ on it. And hadn't he said 'boy' just a little while ago? I decided to let it go, though.

"So, Shean, Val tells me you two are travelling. Is it just a jaunt, or are you looking for something?" I was spacing out and didn't catch it until it was too late and Shean was already answering.

"We're looking for a basilisk lair that we heard was near here."

I glared at Shean and when he caught my eyes, he looked chagrined, seeing what I had before. This was a _mage_. We didn't know which side of the war he was on, if any, but if he was on Ferrel's side, then he'd probably recognize what we were looking for and he'd probably kill us at the least.

Relakk smiled. "Don't worry, Avalla Shirra, I'm not in this with Ferrel."

I gasped. _How_ did he know my real name? I was pretty darn sure Shean had only called me Val as he always did for the whole trip. My fingers tightened on my sword hilt and I saw Shean's knuckles turning white on his own hilt.

Relakk shook his head. "No, don't pull your swords on me. I'm not going to do anything to you. I know what you're doing and I want to help you. I'm supposed to 'check in on you' with the shepherd." He rolled his eyes. "I scried to make sure you were there, but you weren't, so I searched you out. Believe you me it wasn't easy. It took me several days. I have a letter from your mother, if that will make you feel any better. She said that that should explain me."

"Then she doesn't know that I'm not where I'm supposed to be?" I asked, still suspicious. Relakk shook his head.

"She still believes you're safe in the mountains. If only she knew," he muttered under his breath so softly I just barely caught it, rolling his eyes. "I was supposed to pose as your uncle who's come to stay with you for a while, and I had a letter for the shepherd too, but I guess I don't need it. So now I suppose I'll stay with you and help you, if you'll permit me." He handed me the letter and I opened it and quickly read it. I looked up.

"The fairy commands."

"And Lucinda follows."

I smiled. "_Very_ good!"

Shean looked confused. "What the _heck_ was that all about?"

I grinned at him. "Mom and I have a passcode that we made up when I was little. I say, 'The fairy commands' and she replies, 'And Lucinda follows'. It's obscure enough that unless you know the passcode, you probably won't be able guess the reply, so it's pretty safe. And, don't ask me how, but Mom swore that she found a way so that even if she's tortured, she can't be made to tell the passcode if she doesn't want to, so Relakk must be safe."

Shean nodded. "Sounds fine by me, though I'm still trying to figure out this crazy world of yours."

I grinned. "Don't worry, so am I."

Shean just rolled his eyes. Relakk cleared his throat, bringing our attention back to him.

"Well, since I've apparently passed inspection, am I safe to travel with you two?"

I nodded. "Though we'll probably benefit from it much more than you," I warned Relakk, giving him an evil grin.

Relakk pretended to be scared. "I am warned, fair lady." Good, at least we didn't have to travel with a dry college professor-type mage with no sense of humor.

"Then I guess we have ourselves a party," I commented after a pause, not sure what to say. Relakk nodded.

"You do indeed. You _also_ have yourself a teacher."

I stared at him, confused. "What in Faranth's first egg do you mean?"

Relakk looked somewhat surprised. "You didn't know?"

"Know what?"

"I was not only supposed to check to make sure you were all right, I was supposed to teach you basic magik."

"_What?_"

A/N: sigh Geez, that whole _chapter _sounded SO lame to me. Did it read that way? I'm still struggling to think of a better way to introduce Relakk. If anyone has any ideas, they'd be welcomed, heehee. By the way, sorry I haven't emailed you yet, Gayle, I'll do it as soon as I don't forget. And yes, that helped, Guinevere, thanks.


	27. Chapter 27: Magikk Moments

A/N: My gosh, I am _so_ sorry this is so Sithing late! Like I said, I've been busy. (boy, have I been busy. I'll post replies to people's reviews below:

Gayle: I really will email you! Thanks for understanding. And thank you _so_ much for volunteering to Beta! You're pretty much the first person to do so.

flammingirl – Do I read Tamora Pierce, hohoho! You're talking to a _big_ Tamora fan! I'm still trying to finish the Immortals series and the Circle of Magic series. I can't believe one of my readers has read her too! squeezes flammingirl so hard her eyes pop Ooh, ooh, and a Christian! squeezes flammin even _harder_ Ooh, I'm gonna email you! (and Gayle, once I remember, hehe) Do you mind? Oh! Gag! Gasp! Idiot! smacks head against wall three times Man, I'm so _stupid_ sometimes! Thank you _SO_ much for catching that! I'll change it in the rewrite. And as for being long, it's going to be even longer! I'm thinking I'm only half to a third of the way through, which is good for me, 'cause I want to rewrite it and set it in my own world, which I'm creating right now, and see if I can get it published once I edit it enough to get an agent.

Guinevere-971: Yeah, I know, it wasn't a very good chapter, but hopefully things will get better soon. Just curious: which LotR convention? I've gone to RingCon a couple times before I had to move to the stinking East Coast. Bleh. (no offense to anyone on the East Coast, I'm just not used to the weather, people, etc. 'cause I'm from Washington)

watrfairie: Okay, I got _totally_ lost in that review with the HP stuff, but that's fine, since it sounds like people got lost in the chapter, so we're even, hehe. Anyways. Yes, Relakk should be around for a while. grin

Bradhadair: Oh, anonymous reviews are fine, it's just that when people submit signed reviews, they can't resubmit when I update the A/N so that it's a chapter and have to either not submit a review or have to review anonymously. As for the puppy: Misty is a blue merle Miniature Australian Shepherd. She is the sweetest, most adorable little thing, too. She's being broken of nipping right now, but other than that, she's awesome. I've got pics at http/ photobucket . com /albums/y108/JainaEowyn/ (take out the spaces). By the time people go there, I may even have pics of Val up, too.

Previously on Fast Forward:

"I was not only supposed to check to make sure you were all right, I was supposed to teach you basic magikk."

"_What?_"

**Chapter Twenty-seven: Magikk Moments**

I was speechless for a moment. This guy had to be _crazy_. I didn't have an ounce of magikk in me… at least, not that I knew of. And Shean? I may have been born in a fantasy-type world with faeries and stuff, but Shean had been born in _America_, for crying out loud! I was almost certain that neither of us had any magikk.

"Hold on, hold on, back up." Shean had regained use of his voice before me. "Okay, dude, look, you've _got_ to be joking. Val and I are just regular teenagers whose only magikk is the ability to put people in a trance or stupor or something by talking about Star Wars for two hours straight."

I was still too stunned to even laugh. Relakk, however, shook his head.

"No, you both have magikk in you, even if you don't know it. I can see it in your auras."

"Oh, _boy_," Shean muttered. He slung an arm around my shoulders so he could turn me so that our backs faced the mage.

"Val, is this guy _really_ safe? He sounds like he's talking crazy talk," he added, speaking so softly even I could barely hear him.

"I assure you, Master Shean, I am _not_ 'talking crazy talk'. Would you like me to show you?"

Shean rolled his eyes, but shrugged. "Sure, whatever. What can it hurt?"

"Very well, then. Give me your right hands."

Reluctantly, we reached out our right hands and he took them each in one of his own. "Close your eyes," Relakk instructed. We did so. I felt something like a jolt pass through my hand and then disappear.

"Now open your eyes."

We obeyed. We both gasped. All around Relakk was a shimmering pale blue aura and what appeared to be a tight, crackling ball near his heart of the same color.

Still bewildered, we turned to each other and abruptly jumped back. Shean was shimmering the same way, though his color was orange. I looked down at myself. A cloud of green light appeared to have encircled me and formed a ball near my heart.

Without warning, the lights vanished from all three of us. We whipped around to face Relakk.

"What in the galaxy _was_ that?"

"Your magikk," Relakk replied calmly.

Shean waved his hands. "Okay, look, I believe that I saw some shimmery-thingy around the three of us, but that doesn't prove that magikk is even _real_."

Relakk shrugged. "Would you like to see some?"

Shean nodded, but I could tell that he didn't believe a word of it.

"What would you like to see?"

Shean shrugged. "Something that you can do that doesn't have a logical explanation."

Relakk thought for a moment. "Can you be more specific, young Shean? I know of many spells such as you speak of."

Shean sighed. "Fine. Um… how about showing me a picture of what I want most in the world."

Relakk shook his head. "I'm sorry, Shean, I am not a Telepage."

Shean scrunched up one eye in confusion. "What's a Telepage?"

"A Telepage is a mage who has the power of the mind."

"Meaning telepathy and telekinesis and teleporting?" I was starting to catch on.

Relakk nodded. "Correct, Avalla."

"Please don't call me Avalla or I might be obliged to punch you."

"As you wish, Val. Now, as I was saying, is there anything else, Shean?"

Shean thought a moment. "What _is_ your power?"

"My power is that of water and wind."

"Well, then, make a little water spout out here. There's not a lot of water around, or any large winds, so if you can do that, I'll believe you."

Relakk sighed. "The disbelief of youth," he muttered. "All right, I will do as you ask." Relakk closed his eyes and brought his hands out in front of himself. His hands moved as if the left was pulling a string and the right was threading it through to the left so it didn't tangle. Abruptly, both of his hands whipped around to cross in front of one another, he snapped his fingers on both hands and spun them in a circle, and his eyes popped open. There, hovering in front of him was a miniature water spout, about as big as my hand. Shean snorted.

"For all we know, that could be an illusion, like the kind that magicians use."

"I, sir, am a mage," Relakk retorted, sounding strained. "If you _still_ do not believe me, get over here and touch it!" He added, his hands still suspended in front of his body as if holding up the water spout.

Shean sighed, but he went over and reached out a hand to put it inside the spout. He gasped as the water whipped his finger around and lightly nicked his face as it spat the finger back out.

"Okay, I believe you!" Shean hurriedly assured Relakk.

With a sigh, Relakk made a motion as if breaking a string and the water fell to the ground, as the wind rushed away from us to rejoin the breeze Relakk must have pulled it out of. Shean stared at the mage.

"That was… that was… _wow_… Can you teach _us_ how to do that?"

Relakk shook his head. "I can't teach you to do that exactly, because neither of you have quite those powers, but I can teach you to use what you _do_ have."

Shean nodded excitedly. "That'll work."

Keegan, who had been waiting patiently with the horses up until then, took this moment to decide that he had waited long enough for attention and an introduction and came running up to jump on Relakk and try to lick off his face (well, if he had been able to reach his face).

"Yes, I see you too, Keegan."

"You even know my _dog's_ name?" I asked, incredulous.

Relakk looked up from where he had bent down to let Keegan lick his face long enough to say, "I was briefed on _everything_, Val." before he got attacked by a doggie tongue again.

I shrugged. "Okay. Before Keegan attacked you, you had said that we have different powers than you do. What are they?"

Relakk stood up and I called Keegan over to a down-stay at my feet. "You, Val, _are_ a Telepage, or if you'd rather, a telepath. Shean has an ability to use music with magic and a touch of fire magery. You might also have a touch of music magery as well, Val. In addition, you both also have a small, but useful amount of animal magikkk."

We both exchanged glances and grins. "Well, that would explain my being able to hear random thoughts every once in a while and why Shean's so good with the guitar and why animals seem to like us."

Relakk nodded. "I'm here to teach you how to use these skills properly. You may still hear random thoughts, Val, but you'll also be able to hear them when you actually want to. Usually you will only hear random thoughts when they're relevant to you."

"When do we start?" Shean asked eagerly.

"Tomorrow morning as we ride."

"Where's your horse?" I asked, confused. There hadn't been any other living beings around when I had met him, at least as far as I knew.

Relakk smiled. "Watch." He gave a strange, piercing, oddly pleasing whistle.

A few seconds later, we heard hoof beats. Through the trees galloped a horse more beautiful than I had ever seen. He was pure white, but he blended with the sunlight. He was hard to describe. He was beautiful and faster than any horse I'd ever seen and he wore no tack that I could see. He slowed down and trotted to Relakk, nuzzling the mage's shoulder as Relakk rubbed the horse's muzzle.

"This is Shade. He is one of a rare breed of horses, one of the last of his kind. I found his herd in my younger days and he followed me on his own when I left. His kind is faster and more agile than most normal horses and blend into light or shadow. Only two people in history have been able to ride one of them: myself, and Illannar the Brown."

"Illannar the Brown? Who was he?" I'd never heard of him, and I thought I'd heard all the tales.

"Illannar was the greatest animal mage to ever live. He could speak to any animal, whether it was sentient or not. I'm not sure why Shade chose to follow me, since heaven knows I haven't a _shred_ of animal magikkk, but he did and he's been my faithful friend ever since."

There was an uncomfortable pause as everyone tried to think of something to say. Keegan got up and went to sit at Relakk's feet. The mage cleared his throat.

"Well, anyways, now that we have that straightened out, what shall we do?"

"Let's get going," Shean suggested, moving to grab his pack and slinging the strap over his shoulder. "We still have a ways to go before we get to another suitable camping site and I'd like to get there before nightfall."

We all gathered up our things and set off with Keegan trailing along behind or running up ahead after a scent.

We had been riding for several minutes before Shean spoke. "So, about this magikkk thing –"

"How about if we start right now?" Relakk interrupted.

"Where do we begin?"

"How about at the beginning."

A/N: Okay, once again, that may not have been my best (or longest) chapter ever (though I hope it wasn't QUITE as confusing as the last one. To make up for being late and not having the best chapter ever, I'll try to get two chapters cranked out next week. Geez, I just looked at the log I have of how much I write each day and I realized I haven't written since March 31st! Whew! I don't think I have a test next week, so I'll try to write more.

I've been getting lots of writing books from the library (like usual), and one of them suggested getting a white board to write writing goals on for daily/weekly/etc. on, so I think I'll do that so that I can keep up. And boy, oh boy, when I do the rewrite, it's going to be _some_ rewrite! I think I made Val a bit too bold at first, so I might change her character, 'cause she's modeled after me quite heavily (as anyone who knows me well) and I'm more withdrawn when I'm not comfortable, so I'm going to let her character go through a bit of a change, I think. And since I'm going to probably be finished or nearly with the story when I start the rewrite, I'll be able to connect everything better than I am right now and it should all make better sense, heehee. Whoopee!

Also, a couple quick questions: First, does anyone have any ideas for making the quest to find the Stones more exciting? I don't want it to end up just be like, 'okay, we found the first one, let's go get the next… okay, we found that one, let's move on,' 'cause I know I _hate_ that. I have a few ideas, but I can't seem to outline this story very well. (though I do know who all the Guardians of the Stones will be)

Second: Does anyone mind if I use a bit of chat speak? Not anything heavy like, 'OMG, so sry I'm so l8t! I promise 2 B faster next time. Can U ppl forgive me?' or anything like that (I don't think I could write like that anyways, 'cause just that was an effort, heehee). Just stuff like 'lol' and maybe some smilies, and just in my A/N's, 'cause I email a LOT and I always use 'lols' and smilies, so now it's kind of natural when I'm writing casually like this, and plus, the heehee's and hehe's are beginning to bug me.

Wow, that was _long_. And, amazingly, I still have more! Okay, I'm going to start a writing blog so you people can see how far I am. I should be able to update it every couple days and stuff. If I can find equipment, other voice talent, etc., I may be able to record some or all of what I have written so far this summer. Whoopee! One of my friends (who is an amazing artist; go look at her Lion King Fan Art and the comic we're doing together) is also helping me with getting a background and graphics for the website, so that might be up soon, too, if Bravenet'll work. Bleh.

Okay, I think that's all. I'll let you go now, hehe.


	28. Chapter 28: Close Encounters

**I posted this before, but a couple people asked about Beta reading, so I'll post it again because I don't want you to have to go back to the chapter I posted it in, lol: **For Beta Readers, pretty much what I need is someone to: catch typos/errors that I missed; tell me if something doesn't seem right, like for example, how easily Val adjusted to the US, etc. and, if you have ideas, what I could change to make that better; that kind of stuff. Pretty much just what you feel you want to do. I guess you could call it flaming for some of the stuff, though as long as it's not said in a mean way, I call it constructive criticism, heehee. I think that's mostly what it is. Let me know if you try to email me, or (if you do this), you could post your email address and I'll email you for more info. Thanks.

I think that's about it. Thanks for the reviews, guys.

A/N: Oh. My. Gosh. I can't believe how _late_ I've been! And more than once in a row now, too! hits self Okay, now for my traditional lame excuses: I've been Beta reading my friend's wonderful novella manuscript (which can be found under the Spy Kids section of this very website and who's title is Checkmate), I've been playing Golden Sun on my GBA a bit too much, and I've just plain been unable to think of what to do next: magikk lessons or the basilisk. So I think I'll do a bit of both and have a really lame, short chapter because I cranked it off in one day. I could just kick myself _so_ hard sometimes. (Well, actually, sometimes I do, but it's usually by accident) I _seriously_ need to do the outlining that I've been reading about in the writing book I've been spending so much time reading lately, too, lol. Maybe then I won't end up so stuck next time. :P

** Chapter Twenty-eight: Close Encounters of the Scaly Kind**

After several days of scouting and inquiring, we finally found the basilisk cave. By this time, Relakk had taught us some of the basics of magikk. Shean could now make anyone listen to him for a short time when he played music or sang; I could read the outer layers of thoughts when I actually wanted to now instead of hearing random thoughts; and both of us could now call small creatures to us with magikk.

But even these small magikks took an effort right now. Relakk assured us that once we got better control over our magikk, we would be able to do bigger things and it wouldn't take so much effort. I hoped he was right, because whenever I listened to anyone's thoughts, I got a headache for an hour afterwards, and those were just the surface thoughts that you could almost read on a person's face! I couldn't even imagine being able to speak to animals mind to mind like Relakk said I'd be able to in time. Shean and I would both be able to speak to animals that already have the power of mind speech, like unicorns and dragons and that sort of thing since we both have a bit of animal magikk, but Relakk said I'd be able to speak to other, non-magical animals that only Telepages could speak to.

Anyways, I was talking about the basilisk cave. Well, Relakk, Shean, and I had worked out a plan before we got there. Shean would start playing his guitar and keep the basilisk occupied while I went in and found the Stone with Relakk's help. We would leave the animals tied securely a ways away so that there would be no chance for them to get in the basilisk's way and having it turn them into stone.

We crept up to the cave and Shean went to the other side of the cave mouth and hid behind a bush while Relakk and I did the same on the opposite side from him. Shean started singing a soft ballad and strumming his guitar, but loudly enough for the basilisk to hear him. We heard a groan, and then a shadow fell across the opening of the cave.

The basilisk was about seven feet tall and had a gray skin that looked like pebbly leather. It had its long lizard nose up in the air and was standing on its hind legs as if scenting for something. It looked like a huge lizard, but it had powerful hind legs and its forelegs seemed to be just as powerful, though not in the same way. If a lizard can look dreamy, the basilisk did. It waddled over to where Shean was playing and collapsed in front of the bush and folded its forepaws over each other like it was a big dog lying contentedly at its master's feet and its tail swayed with the music.

Relakk and I crept past into the cave and began searching. Relakk began on the wall crevices on the right side while I took the wall on the left and we searched towards the back of the cave.

"Where do you think it would be?" I whispered as loudly as I dared.

"Who knows? It could be in a gilt case, or it could be buried in a treasure pile. It probably depends on how intelligent the creature that is guarding it is. It might be extremely intelligent and have it buried with other treasures to make it hard to find, or it might prize it and keep it in a gilt case as I said. Or it might just have a lesser intelligence, like I suspect the basilisk has, and then I don't know whether to say the creature prizes it as a fighting trophy or if it is simply one of its many treasures that is has collected over the years."

During Relakk's long speech, we had made our way halfway through the cave walls and not come upon anything.

"Then how do we know what we're looking for?"

"Well, just look for something that looks suspicious, or look for a treasure pile or something. I don't _know_," he added irritably.

"Grr, I wish I had a flashlight, or even a _penlight_," I muttered.

We had finally worked our way to the back of the cave when I heard Relakk give an exasperated grunt, there was a whizzing sound, and then a soft glow illuminated the cave. I stared at him.

"How'd you do that?"

I could see his face now, and it had twisted into a scowl. "Do you forget that I am a weather mage?"

"But I thought you could only use wind and water…"

"I can, but I had another mage who has the power of light give me a limited spell in my Tool so that I can call the wind to bring light to me. In this case, the light is being held in my ball." He held up the hand that contained the light and through the glare, I could just make out the outline of a ball.

"Now, may we continue?"

I nodded. With the light, we finally found a medium sized treasure pile. We had to sift through it for a good fifteen minutes before we finally came upon what appeared to be a Stone.

"Val, listen to me. We need to be able to verify that this is an actual Stone and not an imitation. Take my hands and try to read the Stone like you read minds. I will thread the procedure for probing the Stone into you so that you can do it."

I nodded, not sure how this would work, but trusting him. I closed my eyes and I felt Relakk take my hands in his. I started to probe the Stone and felt myself thrown backwards out of the near-consciousness I could feel in the Stone.

I sat up from where I'd fallen backwards from the force of the mental shove.

"Val, are you all right?" I nodded. "Well, I would have to say that that verifies that it's the Stone," he laughed. I nodded again and smiled weakly.

"But that seemed almost too easy. I mean, all we had to do was go and find the basilisk's treasure pile and root through it. Isn't it supposed to be harder than that?"

Relakk shrugged. "Some Stones will probably be easier to find than others. Come on, let's go."

We stood up and I grabbed the Stone and wrapped it in a cloth. I put it in the bag I had brought and Relakk extinguished the light. We hurried back towards the front of the cave when a shadow filled the entrance and I realized that I didn't hear any guitar music.

_I knew it seemed too easy_, I thought.

The basilisk lumbered in and thumped down onto four legs.

_ What are you doing here? _

"You know what we're _doing_ here," I hissed at Relakk. Then I realized the words had been in my mind, and Relakk didn't have mind powers.

"W-who was that?"

_ It was I, of course. Now please answer my question. _

"W-we're just leaving."

_ I know that. I ask you again, what were you doing in my cave. _

"We were just looking for something."

_ One of my treasures? _

I gulped. "What do I _say_?" I hissed in Relakk's ear.

"Say about what?"

I forgot that he couldn't hear her. "She wants to know if what we're doing here." "Tell her the truth," he advised.

"Yes, we were looking for one of your treasures." I winced and readied myself to get whacked into the cave wall by an angry basilisk. I heard a sound like a cat's purr.

_ Is that all? Why did you not ask me first? Why did you send that boy out there to lull me to sleep? _

I gasped. Shean! "What have you done to Shean?" I cried, panicking.

_ I have done nothing to him. He stopped playing for a moment, and I came back to myself and when I looked at him, he ran behind a boulder. He's probably still there. _

I could have sworn I heard the basilisk chuckle at the thought.

"What are you going to do to us?"

_ Do to you? Why, nothing, of course. _

It took me a moment to register this. "Wait, what about all those other knights who you turned to stone?"

_ They charged me with guarding a Stone, which I suspect you took, until someone could come and get it without my knowledge. This you have done, up until the boy stopped playing, so I grant you the Stone. The other men who came before woke me and I was startled and stoned them. I moved them to another cave, though, because they were starting to clutter up my living space. _

I stared. This was not what I had expected at all, and I suspected Relakk hadn't either, judging from his remark earlier about suspecting the basilisk to be one of the less intelligent Guardians.

"Then we can have it?"

_ Take it, and with my blessing. I've had more than enough Questing knights to last me two more lifetimes. _

We made a dash for it as she moved aside, just in case she changed her mind. We did indeed find Shean hiding behind a boulder, as she had said he was. We quickly made our way back to the horses and Keegan and rode away.

A/N: Okay, I have the blog up, but I'm still looking for a magic-type background for the website so I can make a theme, so that might not be up for a while. :P Once again, I'm really sorry, I'm so late; I'll try to get back on track and write more. I just have to decide if I'm going to chronicle every single Stone's recovery, or if I'll just recap some of them to keep this short. Any suggestions, opinions, comments, etc.? Thanks for being such good readers. I love you guys!

Also, quick note: my blog address is http / solowriting . blogspot . com / (without the spaces). If anyone wants to leave comments there, too, that's totally cool.


	29. Chapter 29: A Friend in Need…

A/N: Sorry that this is late again. I started writing it on Sunday, but then I ended up watching The 10th Kingdom (AWESOME movie! Now if only they'll make a sequel, lol), and I just couldn't stop, and since it's 417 minutes, that made it kind of hard to write since I was watching it for so long. ;) I'll try to make it up by getting out another chapter within the week. :)

**Chapter Twenty-nine: A Friend in Need…**

I couldn't believe it. We now had a Seeing Stone. It seemed too easy, but I suspected that the following ones would be harder. The Green Forest was nearby, so we were aiming there next, since the pixie-elves of the Green Forest held the second Stone.

As we were eating breakfast the morning after retrieving the first Stone (we'd had to camp outside), Shean voiced a question.

"So, we should probably send the Stone to Val's parents now, right?"

Relakk and I stopped mid-bite in our bread and stared at him. I finished chewing and swallowed.

"Oh, drat, I'd forgotten about that. How are we supposed to manage that?" I asked, directing the question at Relakk. "I don't want to have to go back to send it home!"

Relakk was still chewing thoughtfully. He swallowed. "As you know, I only have wind and water magikk, but I have long studied other forms of magikk. I know the teleporting spell, and you have the ability, Val. I can lend you some of my power and send the spell through you and we can send the Stone back to Kyrria. And if you'd like to send a note to your parents, Val, you may put it in the bag with the Stone."

I nodded, but I felt a bit unsure. "Are you sure this will work? I mean, I still get lightheaded sometimes and all…"

Relakk shook his head. "No, it will work. Now take my hand in your right and the Stone in your left. I will channel the spell through you, but _you_ must make it work with your magikk."

I nodded, giving him my right hand as Shean handed me the Stone.

"Close your eyes…"

I closed them, knowing what would happen next. I felt a surge of power and rushing voices like a wind that carried through a royal meeting hall, chanting words that I didn't understand. In my magikkal sight, I saw the Stone shimmer, and then begin to flicker, and finally to disappear with a pop.

I jumped and opened my eyes. "Is it back in Kyrria?"

Relakk nodded. "It is back in Kyrria."

I suddenly felt too tired for words and collapsed backwards. Shean caught me and held me. He glared at Relakk. "I thought you said she wouldn't be tired!"

"I said no such thing. I simply said that it would work. Besides, I have something to take care of this." He rummaged in his saddlebag and produced a small flask. "Here, drink this." He handed the flask to me and Shean uncorked it for me. "Just a little, now," Relakk cautioned.

I nodded and took a small sip. I suddenly felt as good as I had before I'd teleported the Stone. I stuck the cork back in the bottle and handed it back to Relakk.

By night, we had made it to the edges of the Green Forest. We camped under a roof of trees, cushioned by a thick layer of fallen leaves that hadn't yet decomposed. Relakk chose to lie by himself, off to the side, nearer to the horses, but Shean and I slept side by side so we could talk.

"So, what did your note to your mom say?" Shean asked, pulling me closer so that my head lay against his chest so that he could run his fingers through my hair.

"Mm, let me see… I told her that we were fine and that Relakk found us and that we'd contact them when we got the second Stone."

"Wait, I thought she didn't know about any of this."

I was glad that it was too dark for Shean to see my face turn red. "Yeah, well, um…. she doesn't. Well, she didn't. She probably does now. Relakk put in a note of his own explaining everything, since you know how bad I am at explaining things."

I could hear a smile in his voice as he replied. "Yeah, I know. So what do you think she'll do? Do you think she'll send anyone after us?"

I shook my head, knowing he'd be able to feel the movement, even in the dark.

"So what do you think she'll do, then?"

"She'll probably worry and wish and wait and all those things mothers seem to do."

Shean sighed. "Well, as long as we can manage to get that second Stone, I'll be happy."

"Mm. Well, I'm tired. Goodnight."

"'Night, love."

And within two minutes, we were both asleep.

The next morning, we ate a quick breakfast and hit the road (or, to be more precise, the almost non-existent game trail) that wound through the trees (and just about everything else it could) before arriving at the pixie-elves' village. We arranged a meeting with the Chief of the Green Forest Pixie-Elves and waited in a small tent.

He finally came and sat down in a little raised chair that was at the right height so that he could look us in the eye.

Pixie-elves are the little hobbit-sized folk of legend; the little forest sprites that everyone thinks wear green hats and boots with pointed, rolled toes. In reality, they aren't quite that insane. Instead, their clothing is made of something more like camo fabric, except with patterns that were a bit more fashionable, and they wore moccasins.

"What do you wish to speak with me about?" Asked the CoP-E (that's what everyone calls the Chief of any of the Pixie-Elf tribes, since CoP-E stands for Chief of the Pixie-Elves)

"We wish to know what me must do to acquire the Seeing Stone that was entrusted to your tribe," Relakk explained.

The CoP-E rubbed his chin. "Hmm… You are not the first to come seeking this. All others have failed. Are you sure you are ready?"

We all nodded. "We're ready," I assured him. "What must we do?"

"I can't believe we have to wade through all this," I muttered as I tried to push my way through a thicket of bracken that we had been obliged to cross. We had had to leave the horses with the P-Es, who had promised to keep them well for us.

"Yeah, well, if your world is like some of the other fantasy worlds, we're gonna have plenty more 'fun' treks," Shean assured me with false cheer. Just wait until we get to the Mog. The CoP-E said that that's even better."

We had to cross through some of the thicker forest to get to the Green Forest Mog, something like a swamp, but it had little fire geysers that shot off every once in a while. It sounded something like the Fire Swamp in the Princess Bride, but a bit harder to detect and more random. Relakk assured us that he could pull up a water shade to shield us from the flames, though.

Once we passed the Mog, we had to get to the Valley of Song, which wasn't supposed to be much farther away. The P-Es only told us that we had to find a Silver Shade flower, which was supposed to grow in a single ring in the middle of the valley. I wasn't at all sure what the P-Es wanted it for, but I figured that it wouldn't be too hard to get, so why bother asking.

"Oh, hey, I think I see a clearing up ahead," Shean called, having pressed ahead a bit farther. Relakk was beating about wildly with his staff at the branches and vines that seemed intent on entangling his robe and cloak.

"Hey, wait for me," I yelled at Shean. He slowed down and I caught up to him. I helped him beat vines out of the way and we made it to the edge of the thicket.

Without warning, a giant snapping bird of prey's beak thrust itself into my line of view. Shean shoved me down and followed the movement. We somehow managed to roll through the bushes and vines to land in the clearing and jump up to face our attacker.

I would have stared, except for the fact that we had to fend it off for our lives.

The animal was magnificent. It had the back body of a horse and the torso, front legs, claws, wings, beak, and neck and head of a gryphon. The hindquarters of this particular animal were a bronze chestnut and the gryphon feathers were silver and brown, making for a beautiful mottled effect.

"It's a hippogryph!" I whispered as Shean tossed me a large branch to fend off the snapping beak.

One wing was trailing the ground as it tried to snap us in half. The filly was still obviously a foal, as she was barely large enough to ride, or she would have been if she were a horse. I had heard tales a-plenty when I was younger about how hippogryphs had savaged villages near their nesting places, so I was very wary of this one.

I didn't want to hurt her, but I felt that I would probably have to kill her to put her out of her misery, since she probably wouldn't let us near enough to splint her wing. But even if she did, she would probably go berserk and break the splint, and possibly the other wing as well, and die anyways, possibly even be killed by poachers, who would prize her feathers, which had the same effect as gryphon feathers: disabling anyone in their vicinity from lying.

All of a sudden, Relakk burst from the trees. He raised his staff and a powerful burst of wind knocked the hippogryph senseless. I stared at him, and then ran to the unconscious filly, forgetting that she could be faking unconsciousness and attack me when I got near.

"If you've killed her, I'll…" I began, but trailed off when I saw that her sides still moved.

"Here, help me secure her," Relakk instructed, pulling off his pack and rummaging through it to come up with several coils of rope and pegs. "Pound these into the ground and we'll secure her so we can work on her wing." She had fallen on the opposite side of her broken wing. "_Hurry_," he added, to remind us that we needed to get to work before she woke up.

We strapped her neck to the ground and hobbled her feet with some of the lengths of rope from me and Shean's packs. We also put ropes on either side of her wing. I sat back and surveyed our work.

"Why are we doing this? She tried to attack us and besides, she'll probably die anyways, since she won't be able to get away from predators or poachers and it would be hard to run through the forest with a splinted wing. Wouldn't it be kinder to just put her out of her misery?"

Shean shook his head. "We can't do that. _I_ can't do that, anyways. I think we can probably talk to her and explain things, even if she can't talk back. You said that young immortals could understand mind-to-mind human speech, even if they can't talk yet, right, Relakk?"

The mage nodded. "I think we may be able to make it work if we get her to the open and then go to the Valley of Song. I know how to trigger the splint so that winds will knock it loose once the wing is healed."

I sighed. "Fine. But if we find her dead, I get first dibs on pummeling both of you."

Shean grinned. "Deal."

**A/N:** Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! I finally figured out an alternate to the Stones! No longer must I slave over a way to keep this interesting! I won't tell you what it is, since you'll find out soon enough. Mwuhahahaha! ;)

Second, I just _can't_ keep up with my 'every Monday' promise anymore. :( I may be able to do every other Monday, though now that I don't have to write horrible history stories for my history project, I might not regard my laptop with so much dread and may be able to make myself write more. ;) I just need to get back in the habit.

Third, I thought of (what I think is) a cool idea for my Fast Forward website. What I'm hoping to do is include character bios, the Stones legend, fan art/pictures (probably all by me, lol), and an FAQ. That's all I can think of at the moment, but I may think of more later and any suggestions are welcomed. I'll probably work on a newsletter too, for those who don't feel like checking my blog. ;)

I think that's all, so I'll leave you alone now, lol. Until next time! Namarie!


	30. Chapter 30a: Discoveries

A/N: sob Okay, I only got one review for my last chapter, which made me very sad. cries That was part of the reason I didn't update sooner; though the other part was because I just can't bring myself to start up my laptop lately. ;) (I like Meg Cabot's explanation of this phenomenon, which she provided in her blog: 'Writers will do almost anything to not write.' Lol.)

**Chapter Thirty(a): Discoveries  
**

Having splinted the wing, we waited until the filly woke up to explain what we wanted to do. She apparently understood, since she shook and nodded her head at appropriate places.

With her permission and cooperation, we made up a litter that we pulled. At this point, I wished that we had brought Filly and Switchfoot along to help pull the litter (I wouldn't have made Shade pull it, though). But the horses and Killian would have had a heck of a time making it through the thicket, so we hadn't had much choice.

But a hippogryph is about the same size as a horse, even if this was a filly, she was still the same size as a horse foal, and she still _weighed_ the same as a horse foal. Even with Relakk using some wind to help push, Shean and I had a _really_ hard time pulling that thing out of the woods, especially since we had to maneuver around trees.

Due to this, I was actually glad to see the Mog up ahead as we neared the end of the woods. There was a bit of open space where we could detach the hippogryph from the litter and into a hiding place where she should be able to get some food.

"How's she going to get food?" I asked Relakk.

He shrugged. "Why don't you ask her to show you?"

_How will you get food?_ I asked her, hoping she would show me.

She nodded and turned her head towards the forest. She gave a weird trilling, kind of like a combination of a bird of prey's hunting cry and the warble of a song bird. Without warning, a flock of little birds flapped to land in front of her, apparently entranced by the sound. I turned my head, not wanting to watch what I just _knew_ would happen next. I heard the snap of a beak and turned back to see that the birds had scattered and a few feathers were floating near the hippogryph's beak. She looked rather pleased with herself.

I noticed that Relakk looked like he had looked away too, but Shean looked a little green around the gills.

"Yeah, she'll stay fed," he muttered, and nearly threw up. I smothered a grin, then hoisted my pack.

"Well, now that we have made a new discovery, let's get going."

Shean quickly followed me, pulling his own pack up to settle it more comfortably around his shoulders. Relakk followed us at a slightly slower pace.

We made our way through the Mog easily enough, Relakk making good on his promise of a water shield. Not that we got in the way of many of the fire geysers, but I would rather be on the safe side than on the crispy side.

"Is that the Valley of Song?" We were nearly to the end of the Mog, and through the shimmer of Relakk's water shield, I could see an idyllic looking valley. Relakk shaded his eyes.

"I think so. Let's get through the rest of this and see."

We quickly followed Relakk out of the Mog and soon came to the edge of the valley I had seen. I stopped.

"Oh, well, that's… accommodating." There, standing in front of us, in curling script burned into polished hardwood, were the words, 'The Valley of Song'. It was like something from one of those fairy tale parodies. I shrugged. There were plenty of things about my world that I didn't know about, so maybe this was just one.

"Come on, let's go," Shean suggested. We followed as Relakk led us down into the valley.

I soon heard some sort of music that rapidly began to get louder as we drew closer to the bottom of the valley. I saw pools that looked like they didn't have a bottom all around us. I had been trying to find the location of the singers when I realized that I didn't hear Shean making some smart remark about how our band could sing better than that, or something along those lines. I looked around.

To my horror, Shean and Relakk were walking like they were in a trance. Even worse, they were walking straight towards one of those pools! Yelling, I ran towards them and yanked them back just before they fell into the pool. I did my best to drag them out of the valley. Luckily, we hadn't gone too far down, so it wasn't as hard as it might have been.

As soon as we were out of earshot of the singing, I sat them both down on the lip of the valley and collapsed backwards onto the grass, letting my eyelids flop closed.

"Val? Val, are you okay?"

I opened my eyes. "I just dragged two guys who, together, are at _least_ two times as heavy as me, and you ask if I'm _okay_?" I closed my eyes again with an exasperated snort.

Shean sat down next to me. I sighed and sat up, opening my eyes.

"You did that?" I turned to look at Shean.

"Uh… _yah_. What, don't you remember?"

Shean shook his head. "I remember walking into the valley a ways, but the next thing I remember is sitting down up here, then looking back to see you falling back onto the grass."

I groaned. "Oh. My. Gosh. I'm _so_ gonna _die_. I'm gonna be stranded out here with two guys who won't be able to remember anything that happens down there, and who are going to try to drown themselves every time they hear that Sithin' awful singing. Relakk, do _you_ remember anything that happened down there?" He shook his head. I buried my face in my hands. "Yep, we're all gonna die."

"No, we won't _die_," Shean assured me, sitting down and putting an arm round my waist so I could rest my head on his shoulder.

"Then what do we do?"

"Someone's going to have to go down there."

A/N: Yes, I know this was short, but since I didn't get many reviews on the last chapter, I'm not too worried (plus, now I'll be able to write Discoveries (b) faster, lol). Was it just that the update thing isn't working (the thing that sends you guys emails when I update), or was it just that no one's reading it right now? Since I'm getting fed up with not sending out emails when I delete an A/N and post a chapter, I'm just going to post A/Ns on the blog, so you'll have to check that. The URL is http / solowriting . blogspot . com (just without the spaces).

I'm also going to be putting the first page(s) of the website up (well, if Bravenet ever re-sends me the password. ). I'm not completely satisfied with it, but I'll keep working on it (I'm just using a boring blue background right now. :P Anyone know of a non-copyrighted pic of something like hyperspace or something that looks like it would fit 'fast forward'?). I can't wait till I can have my first Live Chat thing on the site. Would anyone be interested in doing a Live Chat? For those who don't know, it's where I have a scheduled time that I'll be on the Live Chat and you guys can come and ask me questions and talk to me or whatever.

Also, I may just start writing (a) and (b) chapters so that I can just write portions and start updating faster. Does that sound good?

Sorry I had so many questions. Here's a recap, if anyone cares to any some or all: 1) Did not send out the update thing isn't working (the thing that sends you guys emails when I update), or was it just that no one's reading this right now? 2) Would anyone be interested in participating in a Live Chat?3) Does anyone know of a non-copyrighted hyperspace pic or something that looks like it would fit 'fast forward'? Other questions I didn't post above: 4) Does anyone read the blog? (I know at least one person does) 5) Who all had said they would Beta Read? (sorry, I forgot, lol)


	31. Chapter 30b: Discoveries

A/N: gapes at Jess Wow… That's like, 60k PLUS words! In one sitting? Geez, I love you! ;) huggles Yeah, I could use all the beta readers I can get. I still need to figure out who all had said they'd be willing to beta, and then I'll probably email everyone about it. :) Thanks!

**Chapter 30(b): Discoveries**

I sat up and groaned. "Fine. Get my pack ready and let me get all set and I'll get going."

Shean looked surprised. "What? _I_ was going to go."

I gave him a flat stare. "Sure, Mr. Hero. Go ahead and go down there and drown yourself at the first sign of singing. See if I care." I snorted. "There is no _way_ I'll let you go down there. _I'm_ apparently the only one who can go down there without any trouble."

"Yeah, but – but – but –" Shean stuttered.

"If I may," Relakk interrupted. "Val's right, Shean. I don't think you or I would be safe going down there. I know you probably just don't want to let Avalla endanger herself, but don't be stupid. It's better if she goes down and gets that little flower that the elves seem to want."

Shean sighed. "Fine. But if you get killed, I'll never speak to you again."

I grinned. "No, _duh_." We always used to say that whenever someone in a book we were reading said Shean's line, and it had become something of a joke.

I was quickly packed and ready to go, complete with a little container so the flower wouldn't get crushed. I was just starting down into the valley when Shean ran up and spun me around to wrap me in a nice, long kiss.

"For luck," he whispered in my ear as he let me go. I punched his shoulder and grinned.

"That's Leia's line, you dork. But one for luck," I added, giving him a quick kiss. "I love you."

"I know," he said with an answering grin.

"There ya go, Han," I replied with a wink as I started down the slope.

The eerie singing quickly grew louder as I got farther down into the valley. The only sound was the singing: no birds, no insects, nothing, just the singing. It was very uncanny and unsettling. I shrugged my pack into a better position, glancing warily around. The singing was slowly becoming less luring and more frustrated.

I shivered as I walked down farther into the valley. It was getting colder, but I was getting goosebumps from something else. I couldn't quite identify the feeling, but I didn't like it. Foreboding, maybe… but there was something else. It was going to drive me insane, so I drove it away first.

I heaved a relieved sigh as I saw the bottom of the valley in front of me and picked up my pace, un-slinging my pack to take out the little container I would put the flower in.

Without warning, I was bowled over and felt myself tumble down the hill, tangled with another body about my size, though a bit lighter. I tried my best to kick and punch as the other being tried to pull my short hair and rake me with long nails. We finally hit the bottom of the valley, but my attacker didn't let up.

I managed to get a hand down to my boot and pulled out the dagger that I kept inside it. I delivered a nice cut on the other person's arm and heard a scream. They gave me just enough slack in the moment of surprise and pain that came with my dagger that I could jump to my feet and place a hard-soled boot on my attacker's stomach.

I stared. This was no human. It looked like a female, but she had a medium shade of purple skin and green eyes, as well as fangs and two-inch nails. Her hair was a lighter shade of purple with green streaks. She glared at me, her green cat eyes turning to slits.

"Curse you, human," she hissed, extending her S's like a snake.

"What _are_ you?" I asked, bewildered. I kept my dagger raised and my boot on her stomach, exerting enough pressure that she shouldn't be able to get up.

"I am a syrin, you _idiot_."

"What's your problem?"

"My _problem_ is _you_, mortal. You should not be here. You have kept a tasty meal from my sisters and I. You will _pay_."

"I won't pay anything to you or anyone. Why did you attack me?" I asked, trying to keep my voice from shaking. I couldn't be sure there wouldn't be more of these 'syrins' waiting in the trees for the right moment to attack me.

"I have already told you. Now, you will let me up, or I will call my sisters to my aid."

"How do I know that you won't attack me the moment I let you up?"

The syrin let out a hiss. "You have my word. A syrin never breaks her word."

Warily, I let her up, keeping my dagger raised. Abruptly, she let out a weird, warbling cry. Two more syrins sprang from the trees.

"You gave your _word_," I yelled at her as I tried to get in a decent defensive or good offensive position.

The first syrin laughed cruelly. "Ah, but I did _not_ promise that I would not call any of my sisters once you freed me. You mortals always miss the _details_."

I would have cursed myself if I cursed. Since I didn't, I decided it would be better to think of a strategy – quickly. I wished with all my heart that my magikk had been strong enough that Relakk had taught me the teleport spell. But he hadn't, so I had to make due. And idea swiftly formed itself as I thought of my magikk, however.

Maybe Relakk hadn't taught me the teleport spell, but he _had_ taught me the spell for some small telekinesis. I wouldn't be able to pull trees up from their roots or anything, but I _should_ be able to throw rocks at these creatures.

With this plan in mind, I quickly backed up to where my pack lay off to the right where it had fallen and rolled to when the syrin jumped me. Hopefully I would be able to knock these things out with rocks, then grab my pack and the flower that I now saw grew nearby and run before they woke up.

The syrins slowly advanced on me as I raised my dagger in my right hand while bending to the left to take out the container to put the flower in. I quickly found it, since it was on top and popped the lid. (Have I mentioned that I love Glad containers and lids?) I dropped the container on the ground and prepared for a fight.

One of the syrins lunged at me. I slashed her with my knife in my right hand while calling up a large rock about the size of my fist I'd spied with my left hand. I threw it as forcefully as I could at the syrin's head. It hit it with a solid _thunk_ and she dropped to the ground. Her sisters slowed down just a fraction. I still had work to do.

I dropped my dagger back into its boot sheath and called up fist-sized rocks with both hands. The other two syrins came at me at the same time. I flung the rocks at them, but only hit one. I frantically tried to think of something else to do. She was almost on me. Out of reflex, I kicked. (Have I said that I have some pretty nice kicks?)

Anyways, the syrin fell (No, she didn't fly backwards twenty feet. That only happens in the movies). With the time I had while she got up, I found another stone and used both hands to propel it towards the syrin. This time, it hit her head squarely.

I grabbed the container, picked the flower as well and quickly as I could, and then snapped the lid on the container, grabbed my backpack and ran, trying to put the container into the pack as I did so.

To my dismay, I heard yells. I wasn't sure if it was that the other syrins had found the three that I'd knocked out or if they just hadn't made it in time when the first syrin called them, but now they were after me. Needless to say, I ran for my life.

Just as I began to think I wouldn't make it out, I saw the rim of the valley. I gave it everything I could, glad that I had had such work-outs when I played the weekly games with the band back in Kyrria to give me a bit of extra stamina.

I stumbled up the last few yards out of the valley to collapse into Shean's waiting arms.

"What happened?" Shean asked as he held me, concern in his voice.

"Gotta get away," I gasped. "Gotta get away from the syrins."

"Why, what –"

"_Now_," I yelled, not asking, but commanding.

Shean didn't wait. He helped me run as Relakk grabbed his and Shean's packs and ran after us. I could hear the frustrated shrieks from the syrins fade into the background as we got farther away.

A/N: There, that wasn't _too_ bad, right? And I got it done in a timely manner! I'm so proud of myself! ;) Anyways, don't forget to review; that makes me happy, too.


	32. Chapter 31: Stones

**Chapter Thirty-one: Stones**

We stumbled into the brush on the other side of the Mog and the open space between the Mog and the forest. Crouching down behind the bushes, we caught our breath. I let myself collapse backwards and panted. I felt a thump as Shean followed suite. We lay there for a few minutes simply getting our second wind before I sat up.

"You know, I didn't see the hippogryph when we came through," I commented.

Shean sat up. "Yeah? Well, maybe that's because we _hid_ her, dimglow."

"Oh." I felt a slight blush creep up my cheeks. "Yeah, well… oh, just shut up," I finally said, giving him a little shove. He just laughed.

Relakk had remained sitting while we had fallen backwards. "Well, this is all nice and pleasant, but what do we do?"

We stared at him. "Uh… go back to the pixie-elves?" I replied sarcastically. I refrained from adding 'duh' like I usually would have if he'd been one of our teenage friends. "What _else_ would we do…"

Relakk shrugged. "I wasn't sure if you had other detours on the itinerary. Well, if we _are_ going to head back, I would say we should get going. We still have to get through the forest again, and I don't like to think of what will happen if those – those _creatures_ did follow us out of their valley."

Shean and I stood up very quickly. "Let's go then," I laughed nervously as I picked up my pack and started off at a brisk trot. The others caught up rather quickly.

We walked into the pixie-elf village again and were greeted by stunned, silent stares. We continued through the uncomfortable silence until we reached the CoP-E's cottage. I walked up to the door and knocked while the other two waited a couple yards behind me.

The door opened and I looked down into the stunned face of the CoP-E.

"What – what – what –" He stuttered repeatedly. I cocked my head at him. "_What_ are you doing _back?_" He finally all but screeched.

"What? Weren't we _supposed_ to come back?" I asked, confused.

"Yes, but – but – but _no_ one comes back!"

Then I understood. They had seemed to kind and accommodating when we had met with them, but now I saw what they had been doing: they had been buttering us up so we'd be all ready and excited to go get some stupid flower for them from the valley. They probably expected that the syrins would drown us, like they had done to all the other questers. Then they would get to keep the horses and Keegan and anything else that we had left with them to pick up when we returned. They must get plenty of profit by providing fun for the syrins.

I put on my court façade, the one I used when I had to play princess when I was with royalty and nobles, or when I needed to intimidate someone. The fact that the CoP-E was a couple feet shorter than me helped too.

My nose in the air, back straight, I stared down my nose at the CoP-E. "Is there a reason we should have _not_ returned? Is there something you're _keeping_ from us?" I asked in my richest, most pompous voice.

The CoP-E quickly shook his head. "No, no, sir, I assure you! Come in, come in."

Ah, that was it! I kept forgetting that with my hair cut to just below my ears, I still looked a boy's part, and people always thought I was. They must have thought we were all men, so the syrins would be able to get us all. I kept myself from grinning. This got better and better.

I ducked through the low doorway and Shean and Relakk followed. We sat on the floor on cushions as before while the CoP-E sat on a little chair in front of a table so our eyes were on a level.

I un-slung my bag and rummaged through it before I found the container with the flower. The CoP-E's eyes even wider than they already were, so much so that I thought they might pop out of his head and roll onto the table.

"You – you – you… got it?" My, wasn't he stuttering a lot today?

I nodded. "Now, may we have that Seeing Stone like you promised?"

"Did w – Oh, _yes_! Of course, of course." He turned around and brought out a hardwood box with a padlock on it. He reached under his tunic and pulled out a small key on a chain. He inserted the key in the padlock and popped it open. He reached inside and handed me a velvet drawstring bag that held a large round, smooth object.

Having read way too many fantasy stories, I loosened the drawstring and let the sides of the bag fall to reveal the ball inside, just to make sure we weren't getting conned.

The bag slithered down to reveal the glassy blackness identical to our first Stone. I covered it again and drew the drawstring.

"Very good. We'd also like our belongings and animals back. We will test the Stone outside the village. And let me warn you, if this isn't the real thing, you will regret it."

The CoP-E waved his hands at me. "No, no, I assure you, sir, it's the real thing. Now will you leave us in peace?" He added with a tone of begging in his voice.

I nodded curtly at him and squeezed out of the cottage, Shean and Relakk following once again. Once outside, I stretched.

"Mm, that felt good. Now, shall we go get our things and go?"

The others nodded and we went to get Filly and Switchfoot. (Shade had been left outside the village since he could fend for himself, having been born wild) Keegan yapped at us excitedly from the big pen he had been put into for safe-keeping. He was released and the pixie-elves returned our other belongings. We took the horses and led them out of the village.

Once we were quite a ways away from the village, I called the halt and brought out the Stone. "What do I do, Relakk?"

"Rub it-" I raised my hand. "No, not _yet_. Now, once you've rubbed it, you'll use your fingers to move around until you find Kyrria and your mother and the first Stone. To search through doors, touch them. If your mother's there, she'll see you."

"So, it's like a touch-screen mouse?"

"Um… sure." I had forgotten he wasn't familiar with 20th century terms.

"Why didn't we just do this when we got the first Stone, instead of sending it home? I thought that they were going to bring back the one from Ayrlan…"

Relakk shook his head. "After you left, we received some bits of information about Ferrel, which made the council of allies decide to leave it in Ayrlan so that there would be less chance of it being intercepted and falling into the enemy's hands."

"Oh. Um… should I try it now." Relakk nodded.

Trying not to shake, I rubbed a hand over the Stone. Using my fingertips as a guide, I quickly roamed until I found the palace at Kyrria. I paused. Man, I was going to be in _such_ trouble! I bit my lip. Should I really do this?

Yes, I had to. I pushed my fingers until I came to the throne room. I zoomed in until I found a familiar face starting back at me with shock. "Mom…?"

A/N: Hope you liked it. Well, _now_ it's gonna get _fun_! rubs hands together, eyes glinting evilly I can't wait to do the next part, though I'm not quite sure what it will be yet, lol. Anyways, if anyone has any ideas for the story, let me know in your review (or by email if you've already gotten an email from me), and if you have any things you'd like to see on the website, too, let me know via the same means. Thanks!

A/N2: Okay, I'm now getting Beta Read. It may take a bit longer to post chapters, though, since I might rewrite parts to make it more understandable. The good thing, though, is that the chapters will be better written now. Hope you enjoy!


	33. Chapter 32: News Flash

A/N: Wow, this was _SO_ late. I can't believe I took this long to update; sorry. (okay, I guess I can believe it, since I tend to procrastinate, lol) I've been kinda busy, 'cause I'm building a website, and I've got a job, and I'm trying to put together an online/offline party planning with some friends. I probably explained a lot of this in the A/N after the story, which I wrote before this one, but oh well. I would have updated sooner, but I keep forgetting that I had one of the chapters posted as two, so when it says 32 chapters, it's only _31_ chapters that are actually up. glares at self So anyways, because of the long delay, I actually have Chapter 33 ready for Betaing, so I'll be sending that out, and it _should_ get posted sooner than this one did. ;)

**Chapter Thirty-two: News Flash**

"Val?" To my surprise, it sounded just like she was standing in front of me. After a moment of silence, she burst out, "Oh, my baby! Are you all right? Are you safe? Why aren't you where I sent you? Is Relakk still with you? Where's your friend, Shean? Why didn't you tell me -?"

I put a hand over the ball for a moment to stop the flow of questions before removing it again to reply.

"Let me see… um, I'm fine; I'm safe; I wanted to do something to help, and besides, the mountains are usually boring, unless I got to explore, which I knew I probably wouldn't; Relakk's still with me, and so is Shean –" They both poked their heads over my shoulder to prove my point. "– And I didn't tell you because I knew you'd stop me. Anything else?"

"Yes." This time, her words didn't tumble head over heels in their rush to escape. "I have news, but I have a couple more questions. First, when are you coming back?"

"When we find all the Stones."

Her face contorted into something between rage and exasperation. "I want you home _now_, Avalla Shirra Fealla Charlla, but since I can't physically drag you home, and I suspect Relakk and Shean won't help me-" They popped their heads over my shoulder again to shake them. She sighed. "Then I guess I'll have to abide by your wishes. But the _moment_ you get home, young lady…" I smothered a grin, knowing she'd just be overjoyed again and forget punishments for at least a couple days. "Well, second, I want to know if you even know what you're doing."

I rolled my eyes. "Mom, if I didn't know what I was doing, I wouldn't be here, would I?" She raised an eyebrow and I sighed. I'd forgotten that my personality hadn't changed much in the time I'd been away, so she still knew me too well. "Yes, I know what I'm doing. Now will you please tell me the news?"

She pursed her lips. "I'm not sure. Maybe I shouldn't. Since you didn't tell me what you were doing, so maybe I shouldn't tell _you_ what _we're_ doing…" I glared at her.

"Mom, if it's anything I should know, you _have_ to tell me and you know it."

She stuck her tongue out at me. I hoped no one was there to see the queen stick her tongue out at a shiny black ball. She must have seen my expression, because her next words were, "No, no one's here."

"So what? Come _on_. Tell me."

"Well, aren't we pushy? Where are the manners I taught you?"

By now, I was _completely_ fed up.

"_Mom_. If you don't tell me now, I'll – I'll stay away for _another_ three years."

She frowned. "And you'd probably do it, too," she murmured, then sighed. "Fine. We have received word from several of our allies that with the success you three have had, their champions and knights are willing to find the other Stones if we help to plan their quests."

I sighed. "Mom, I already wrote up a list of what we'll have to do to get the Stones and _I_ want to do this."

"Yes, but now we have another project no one wants," she replied nervously. I saw the side of her mouth twitch anxiously and I guessed that she was probably playing with her fingers like she usually did when she was upset. But now I was interested.

"Come on, Mom; what is it? I know you want to protect me, but I'm willing to take on pretty much anything no one else wants; you know that. I didn't train for all those years for nothing."

She bit her lip. "But this is much more complicated and dangerous than I want you to be involved in…"

"_Hang_ it, Mom, just _tell_ me." What _was_ it that she was pussyfooting around? This wasn't like her. She was usually one of the most forthright people I know.

"We've received news that could unravel everything. You obviously know the legend of the Stones, right?" Of course I knew them. I wouldn't be out here if I didn't, would I? Besides, she was the one who'd told me all of them about ten times each when I was little, so she should know. I nodded anyways just so she'd hurry up and get whatever awful news she had done with.

"Well, you remember that the Lord Sselth made the Stones before he became evil, correct?" I nodded, not remembering the last time my mother had been so exasperating. "Well, we've heard that… he's come back and is allied with Ferrel." Her voice was just barely a whisper.

I rocked back so hard that Shean had to catch me to keep me from falling onto my back. I had to shake his arm off my shoulders so that Mom didn't get suspicious.

"He's – he's – he's –" I stuttered. Shean, who didn't know the legend as well as me and thus still had a level head, took over.

"Val's still a bit shocked, ma'am. If you would continue…"

She nodded. "I think we're all still a bit shocked. Well, to resume, we've gotten more news than that from our spies. We've also discovered the reason why he didn't technically die…" She trailed off into a whisper

I had recovered by now and took the Stone back from Shean, but he still hung over my shoulder, though Relakk simply sat nearby where he could still hear.

"Technically?" Now I was confused instead of exasperated.

"Yes. You see, though he was defeated, he didn't die."

"How is that _possible?_ His body was recovered by his cronies and was reported to be _entombed_."

"Yes, _a_ body was seen to be entombed by our spies, but it wasn't his."

"But that was at least a century or two ago. He _couldn't_ still be alive."

"Except that he is. And we know why."

"Why?" Now I was a bit suspicious as _well_ as confused and exasperated.

"Because, when he betrayed us, he had a dark mage remove his heart and encapsulate it in crystal so that he couldn't be killed unless his heart was destroyed."

This time Shean only caught me because his arm was already around my shoulders and he had frozen. Even Relakk jerked. Shean and I stared at her. I'd read about that sort of things in some of the weirder fantasy and sci-fi novels I'd read, but I hadn't thought it could actually be _done_. But then again, I lived in a fantasy world, and I _still_ didn't know its limits.

"Are you _sure_?" I finally managed. She nodded. "How do we defeat him, then? And how do we defeat Ferrel if they've got a powerful dead guy who's not really dead on their side?"

"The crystal can be broken, if it can be found, and _if_ you have the Hekhzervon."

"The what-a-_what_?"

"The Hekhzervon. It was made by the Dwarves of Syulikhung Mountain."

"Where's that?"

"It's a mountain that is in the deep north. It was only found once and there is only a general location indicated on the maps. And a very wide general location at that."

"So how are we supposed to find it?"

She sighed. "I don't want you to have to do this, but if you still think you can, I supposed I'll have to let you, since no one else will do this. If you could send me the list you made to recover the Stones the same way you sent this one, would you be able to bring that bag back with a map and instructions that I had made?"

I glanced at Relakk, who nodded, so I nodded to her.

After some final detail hammering, we arranged it so that I would send the bag with the plans, and she would put her papers into it and let me know that she was ready via the Stones. The plan worked well enough and I got the map and instructions straight away.

I opened the bag and carefully pulled out two pieces of paper, one long one that was rolled into a scroll and a smaller one that was handwritten.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Sorry I didn't update sooner. I've been kind of busy getting my job prep stuff ready for the skate rink I applied to (I hate having to get work permits. ), which, now that I have finished getting everything ready, I started on 6/17.

And I'm going to be working at VBS at my church, which will most likely include a bunch of skits I will have to memorize my lines for (well, hopefully, since I volunteered, so I'm hoping to be in them).

And I'm going to be getting Dramatica Pro to help me develop this story a bit better (if the stinkin' people will ever get back to me about what I can do to get the student discount, since, being homeschooled, I have no student ID to prove my age! ).

So, in light of all that, I'm going to be a bit overwhelmed for a while until I settle into my new routines. So I hope all of you will bear with me while I get everything worked out and do my best to get Dramatica Pro to help with outlining, etc.

On another note, I'm going to be learning PHP/mySQL (hopefully), so the website may get spruced up if I can find some way to make either Bravenet or Freewebs work. Speaking of that, I have the forum up on the website. Which would be preferable: using the Bravenet forum that's up at the moment, or if I made a ProBoard instead? I've made ProBoards before, so it wouldn't be a real big deal. :) Just let me know either way (if you're even interested in using the forum, anyways). I'm probably going to opt for ProBoards, though, 'cause I've used them a lot, and I can actually make separate categories for the threads, which will make it _much_ easier to navigate. Anyone interested?

I'm also hoping to schedule a Live Chat session soon, once I find out if anyone's interested, and if you are, when you'd want it to begin. Does July 12th sound good? It would be about 9pm-10pm, East Coast time.

Quick note before I go: if names change, that's on purpose. I'll go back and change it in the previous chapters for when I repost. :) Also, don't worry, all will (hopefully) be explained in Chapter Thirty-three. ;) Hey, what would people think if I put up a special page on the website that will display the first paragraph of each new chapter or something, and you will only get the password to open the page at the end of each chapter on here, so you can only read it if you read Fast Forward? Kind of like a lot of published authors who have websites (or blogs in people like Meg Cabot's case) do when they post an excerpt from their upcoming books. Oh, I have too many questions for you guys, so I'll post them again on the Blog, and if you care to reply, you can have the choice of doing it here or on the blog, lol. Thanks.

Also, thanks to my three Beta Readers, and to my other readers, I'm hoping to put up a Beta Readers page to explain what it is, so if you think you might be interested in Betaing, let me know in your review and I'll do my best to get started on the page. :)

P.S. In the words like 'Hekhzervon' and 'Syulikhung', the 'kh' is not pronounced like the C in 'cat', it is pronounced gutturally, like in 'ach'. (I couldn't find a word in English off the top of my head that has a guttural 'kh' sound. Suffice to say that it's pronounced gutturally, lol)


	34. Chapter 33: Change of Plans

A/N: Sorry this took so long. I haven't been on the Internet very much, and all my Betas appear to be out on vacation or at camp or something, so this hasn't been Betaed yet. winces and sighs But for those of you who haven't heard, I have a lame little website up at the moment at http / solowrite . bravehost . com (no spaces), and the blog is up at http/solowriting. and there's a link to the new forum up. I need to mess with the forum too. Meh. I was kind of sad about the reviews (32 hits on the new chapter, but only 3 reviews. sigh). But oh well. On a good note, I should be starting to update more regularly in a few weeks. Yay!

**Chapter Thirty-three: Change of Plans**

"So what's up with this 'Hekhzervon, made by the Dwarves of Syulikhung Mountain' thing your mom was going on about?" Shean asked as I put the small paper into my lap and was about to open the long scroll.

I shrugged. "If you wouldn't disturb me and would let me read this thing, I _might_ be able to tell you." He promptly shut up.

I unrolled the scroll and spread it on my lap. It was a large map with pretty decent detail. Shean leaned over my shoulder. "Hey, that looks like a map from LotR."

I glanced at him. "Are you kidding? There is no way that this looks like one of Shelly Shapiros' maps."

"Yeah, well there weren't all that many other fantasy books that had good maps, so what else can I compare it to?"

I shoved him away with one hand while using the other to keep the map spread out. "Okay, let's see, we're right here-" I pointed to the spot on the map. "-and we want to go somewhere around… here." There was a circle drawn on the map encompassing a sizeable area which must indicate the vicinity of Syulichung Mountain. "Oh boy, _this_ should be 'fun'," I groaned. Shean came and sat next to me, slinging an arm around my shoulders.

"Hey, we've come this far fine; we should be able to get some lil' ol' Hechzervon fine too."

I looked at the smaller paper with the instructions and gave Shean a raised eyebrow. "Uh, yeah, the 'lil' ol' Hechzervon' should be easy to find, especially since it's being guarded by dwarves and is actually not so little, being about two, possibly two _and a half _feet long and the handle is solid, strong wood, and the head is iron. Oh yeah, that should be a _cinch_." I wrinkled my nose at him.

"Yeah, well…"

I stood up and began to gather up our supplies. "Well, since almost everything is essentially hopeless, let's get our things together and get started, and then pray that God will help us get through this in one piece, if that's what he wants."

Shean nodded, knowing I was serious, but Relakk just shrugged, not knowing me quite as well.

We mounted up and rode away into the wild blue yonder.

We were now quite a ways away from any villages now, and the villages there were, were not very close to each other, so we had to camp outside that night. Relakk huddled inside his own tent, insisting that he'd be fine, though the weather was beginning to get cold now. We had only brought two tents, and since we had been sleeping out under the stars, we hadn't thought to buy one at the last village we'd stayed at, so Shean and I had to share a tent. We shivered inside our sleeping bags, trying to get warm.

"It's so cold," I muttered to myself through chattering teeth.

"C'mere," Shean offered, raising an arm to gesture that I could slip under. I shimmied inside my sleeping bag till our bags were right next to each other and I could slip under his arm. With another body near mine, our combined body heat kept us warmer than a few minutes ago. I was about to drift off to sleep when I felt Shean gently running his fingers through my hair. I snuggled up closer.

"Shean?"

"Hm…"

"Do you think we'll actually do it?"

"Do what?"

"Defeat Ferrel and Sselth."

"_I_ think so, but who knows."

"God."

He chuckled. "Yeah, but I meant any of us mortals." He sighed. "I think, if it's his will, we'll make it through with flying colors."

I smiled. "You're such an optimist sometimes."

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

I just laughed. "Whatever you want it to be." We were silent for about a minute before I spoke again, almost fearing the answer to the question that I had to ask. "So what are you going to do once we finish this? Are you going to go back home?"

He didn't answer and I was almost certain I knew what he was going to say. I stiffened and pulled my arms up and rubbed them as I began to shiver again, though not so much from the cold this time. Then I felt his other arm come around me and squeeze me tightly to him. I let my head lay on his chest and tried not to cry.

"I could never leave you, Val."

"What?" I almost jerked out of his hold.

"What, you thought I would go back?"

"Well, yeah…"

"Val, I can go back and visit whenever I want with the bauble I got from that machine, but I don't ever want to leave you for longer than I have to."

I smiled and had to hold back tears again. "You really mean it?" I asked, my throat tightening.

"Of course." He reached down and turned my head up to his, kissing me softly before letting me go. "Now, do you know anything about this Sselth guy? I think that we should learn as much as we can about him so we can defeat him even more soundly."

I had to shake my head. Shean was such an optimist most of the time. But knowing that he believed we could do it helped give me some extra strength.

"Uh… let's see, what have I told you so far?"

"Only that he was allies with our side for a while, then pulled an Anakin."

I laughed. "You have quite the way with words."

"Yeah, I get it from my girl."

I smacked him, then began. "Let's see… yes, Sselth was on our side. He was one of the most powerful lords that we had at the time, and probably still is. But he was a bit too power hungry. He thought that our side would give him that when we won, so he made the Seeing Stones for us, and instructed several wizard-smiths on how to create the Listening Stones, which are better known as the Minor Stones, so that we could keep better communication lines. See, usually, we have to send a messenger or something, which will usually take at least one day, if not more, and a lot of times, by then, it's too late for our field commanders to do much. So, with the Seeing Stones to control the Minor Stones, our royals could communicate with any field commander that had a Minor Stone.

"But then Sselth decided that we weren't powerful enough to give him what he wanted. So he took all of the Seeing Stones he could find and hid them or gave them away. Most of them were either never recovered from their hiding places, or they were lost by the person Sselth gave the Stone to. But we managed to keep one Stone, and Sselth thought we'd lost it, which would mean that we wouldn't be able to use the Minor Stones, because you need at least two Seeing Stones to activate the Listening Stones."

"So that's why we needed the first one we found?"

I nodded. "Now that they have that one, they can link it to the Stone that's still in Ayrlan. Once they link them, they can control as many of the Minor Stones as they can manage."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, with only two Stones, they can control all the Minor Stones – can I just call them comm-links? I'm tired of saying 'Minor Stones' all the time."

I could hear Shean grinning when he replied. "Of course. Now hurry up."

"Well, like I was saying, with the two Stones we have right now, we can control as many comm-links as we can manage, but it's rather hard to keep all of those comm-links organized with only two Stones, because we still have to communicate either by messenger or a comm-link with all of the other allies. So once they have the other Stones, they'll be able to not only communicate better with the other kingdoms, but they'll be able to spread the field commanders more evenly through all of the Stones so no one gets overloaded."

I felt Shean nod. "All right, now I understand."

We were quiet for a moment. I sighed. "I'm tired. G'night."

"'Night, Val," I heard Shean whisper back before I drifted off to sleep.

A/N: Okay, well, I'm well into work now. In fact, I get to work every single day this week. Which, although it is _not_ good in the way that it means I'll have less time to write, _is_ good in the way that I now have earned more than $150, so I can now afford Dramatica Pro, which will (hopefully) dramatically improve my outline (which has drastically fallen behind the story itself, hehe), so I might actually be able to write more. (Go figure that I have little scenes here and there that I know I need to put in, plus the ending almost plotted out, but nothing else. )

And hey, I think I figured out why I (and several of my writing friends) like to use smilies and lols and some of them don't always use caps: we figure that, well, we write correctly in our stories, so it's kind of nice to get a break from it in our casual writing. ;) So thank you all for accepting lols in my A/Ns, because I was about to go mad from 'hehe-ing'. ;)


	35. Chapter 34: Disbelief and Magikk

A/N: Okay, only one of my Betas was able to read this, but she said she thought it was fine, and I've gone so long without posting, I needed to post _something_, lol. I know it's kinda weak, but I typed it up in like, half an hour (or something). So, while I work on hammering stuff out with Dramatica Pro: Enjoy!

**Chapter Thirty-four: Disbelief and Magikk**

I woke up early the next morning to find Shean up and stirring up the beginnings of a breakfast fire. Relakk was still asleep.

"What're you doing up so early?" I murmured sleepily, rubbing my eyes blearily.

"I don't know." I climbed out of my sleeping bag (I was so glad Shean had thought to go back and buy a bunch of things we'd need after we had gone back to visit his parents). I was awake now.

"You don't know?"

Shean shrugged. "Well, I woke up early, and I figured I'd get breakfast ready."

"Shean, you haven't cooked anything decent in your life that I know of other than pancakes, waffles, and other things that we don't have the ingredients for right now. Let me see our supplies."

He handed over the bag. I rummaged inside and held up a couple apples. "Want some roasted apples?" I asked sarcastically. Shean shrugged and took the apple from me, poking a stick through the core.

"Sure, I guess." I stared at him as he slowly rotated the apple over the fire. He looked up and saw me giving him a weird look.

"What? I'd rather have apples for breakfast and save all the potatoes for dinner. But seriously, Val, we are in desperate need of finding a town soon or we'll run out of readily available food."

I sighed. "I know, I know! I'll make Relakk let us swing by a town, if we can find one, and pick up some food."

"Good morning."

Shean and I both jumped. Relakk had walked over to join us.

He laughed. "I think you two need to tune your reflexes. Now, what's for breakfast?" He asked, rubbing his hands together.

"Uh… roasted apples," I replied ruefully. He raised an eyebrow.

"Ah. Well, I guess we must make the best of our situation," he sighed resignedly.

"Speaking of that," I cut in, "we need to stop by a town or a farm or a house or _something_ and get some more food or we'll run out soon."

Relakk nodded. "As you know, I've been riding ahead of you two every once in a while as we've been riding and I've found a small group of farms that should be able to take some money off our hands in exchange for food."

"Oh, that's good."

Relakk held up a hand. "But first, I'd like to work with you two on your magikk a bit."

Shean groaned. "Relakk, come on –"

Relakk cut him off before he could get farther. "No, Shean, I've been letting you two get lax in your practice. I'd like to work with you as we ride."

Shean made a face. "Let's get packing, then," he suggested in a falsely cheerful tone.

"Come on, Sheanie, it's not so bad," I replied in an equally false sweet voice, hoping to kid him out of it.

It didn't work.

"Yeah, it _is_. I totally love fantasy and sci-fi… when it's in _books_." I was surprised by the vehemence in his voice. "Not when I have to deal with it in real life. Val, I can't take it. It's too much for my little brain. I keep pinching myself to wake me up, and all I've gotten for my efforts are a lot of little red marks," he added, showing me his arm, which did indeed have a few little cuts that looked fingernail shaped. "How can you take it?"

"Shean, I grew up with this. I was _born_ in a fairytale world. Maybe it isn't so perfect, but to prove my point, my mother was one type of _Cinderella_," I added, stressing the character's name. "It's natural for me to accept this kind of thing. Your magic isn't anything bad. It's just a special gift that God has given us, and all the other mages. You have to accept it and use it for Him."

Shean sighed. "Val, it's not that easy. I… I dunno, I just can't really explain it. Oh, forget it. Let's just get going." He started to gather up our things with angry swipes.

I looked at my feet, then started helping. When Shean got himself worked up, it was the same as when I did: we couldn't be stopped or talked out of it. Even by ourselves.

We were quickly packed, since we didn't have much more than our clothes, our backpacks, our food, our sleeping bags, and our guitars. We quickly mounted up and started riding in a row with Relakk in the middle. There was silence for a minute, then Relakk spoke.

"I think it's about time you two started thinking about what Tool you will use."

We stared at him. "'Tool'?" I asked, puzzled. "Like, a screwdriver, or a hammer, or something?"

"No, a Tool to store your power for times when you need it. You can store power in one type of crystal and spells in another at different places in your Tool."

"Well, what exactly _is_ a 'Tool'?"

"That depends. Some people prefer staffs, like mine-" he indicated the staff that he carried in a holster on his saddle. "-but some people prefer something like a pendant, a charm bracelet, or any number of different things you could choose. It all depends on your personal preference. I just want you to think about what you want when it comes time to have them shaped."

"And what if I refuse?" I stared at Shean, startled. He had already expressed his dislike of his own magic, even before today, but I hadn't had any idea how much he disliked it until now.

Relakk gave him a firm stare. "Then you, sir, will end up with wild magikk. No mage can hold all of their power in themselves and still keep their sanity. You must have a Tool or risk madness."

"But I don't _want_ it." There was desperation in Shean's voice. "Isn't there _some_ way you could get rid of it for me?"

I couldn't help but feel sorry for Shean. It was almost like when I fell into Washington, although he knew a bit more about fantasy than I had about America. But magic, and wizards, and princesses, and all that aren't usually things you think will become everyday things. And when they do, it's a bit hard to take in. But I had confidence that Shean would chill out and accept it… in time.

I started trying to decide what I wanted. I could probably just get a pendant or something like that and get it made in a cool design or something. Or I could get a staff like Relakk and get designs engraved or carved in it. Or…

"What about a sword?"

Shean and Relakk, who were in a heated debate about magikk, stopped and stared at me.

"You have one," Shean replied flatly and turned back to Relakk to continue their discussion.

"No, a sword Tool," I cut in before they could start again.

Relakk looked thoughtful. "I haven't heard of many. Possibly only one. Enchanted swords… magikkally spelled swords… yes. But not many sword Tools."

I smiled. I love being unique. "Then I think that's what I want."

Shean looked kind of thoughtful now, too. "So we can have normal, everyday Tools?" Relakk nodded. "So I could have something like a belt or a bow or something?" Relakk nodded again. "I might do that. But I still don't think it's fair. I should be able to do something to get rid of my magikk."

"Well, you can't. I –"

"_Stop_." They both turned to look at me. Shean looked more surprised than Relakk. "You two sound like Éra and Sekc. Shean, you have magikk: get over it. Relakk, just ignore him. He gets like this when he's upset, and if you ignore him, he'll just keep talking and you don't have to listen." Shean started to protest, but I didn't let him get started. "But seriously, you guys need to get a _grip_. We all need to be working _together_ if we're gonna get this Hekhzervon thing and kill Sselth. If you two are at each other's throats the whole way, I'm gonna get mad, too, and no one's going to have anything to do with each other and we'll all be miserable. So make up and let's get going."

I reined in my horse and crossed my arms as I waited for them to do the same. They both apologized as quickly as they could and then kneed their horses into a trot.

I sighed. This was going to be one _loooooong_ trip.

A/N: To those who don't: PLEASE review!

Okay, since I'm assuming that none of you read my blog, I'll post it here, too: I'm going to be focusing on getting Fast Forward outlined, so I'll probably not update again until a couple of weeks after you guys start school. This is partly so I have time to outline it, and partly because either no one seems to have time to read this, or everyone's still on vacation.

Also, if you read the blog (http/solowriting. please make a little comment about it in your review hint, hint. I also posted a link to my first fan art there. (also, I'd love to talk to you guys at the forum: http/fantasyff. going to be working on a short story about Val's mom (not Ella, the one that will be in the publishable version of Fast Forward). If you guys would like to read it and give me feedback on it before I see if I can find any magazines that will take medieval fantasy (anyone know of any? I don't), let me know in your review, 'cause I'm not gonna put it on the Web because then I can't give an editor first publishing rights, so I would email it to you.


	36. Chapter 35: Tension in the Air

**Chapter Thirty-Five: Tension in the Air**

"Relakk, is that the town?" I called, spotting what looked like at least one, possibly more, farm houses up ahead.

Relakk turned back. "Yes. If we hurry, we can get there, get our food, and get back on the road before dark."

"Come on, Shean, I'll race you," I suggested and kneed Switchfoot into a canter. I looked back to see how close Shean was, but he was still in a walk. I pulled Switchfoot up on his haunches to swivel around (his favorite trick) and trotted back to Shean.

"Hey, what's up? You haven't been yourself lately."

"Can you blame me?" He began heatedly. I backed off. "I'm whisked away from my family, my home, my friends, practically everything I've known since I was born, and I'm transplanted into this world like I've only read about in books or seen in movies. I'm told that the girl I've had a crush on for two years really _is_ a princess like she's been telling me for three years. I'm informed that I have this 'magikk' and that I have the supposed 'Gift' of fire taming and music and that I need to find myself some 'Tool'. I'm supposed to accept this like it's nothing. _You_ accept it like it's nothing. What am I _supposed_ to feel like? I want to go home. I want to get _out_ of this sithing ridiculous, gall-darn awful place!"

I stared at him. After this morning's blow-up, I had expected him to have gotten over it by now like he usually did. Earlier, he had been blowing up because Relakk had told him he needed to do homework; now he was yelling at _me_. He hadn't done that for as long as I could remember, unless I did something horrible like touched his autographed guitar, or let one of the dogs get the lyrics to one of the songs we were writing, or if I borrowed one of his books and forgot to ask.

I kneed Switchfoot back into a canter and rode back towards the town, trying not to cry. I couldn't believe it. Just a month ago, he'd been saying how, although he missed Washington and his family and stuff, he just wanted to stay with me. Now he was yelling about me for stuff I couldn't control and saying he wanted to leave.

I leaned down and put my arms around Switchfoot's neck, letting him take me where he wanted. He kept cantering for the sheer fun of it. I heard another set of hooves approaching and I sat up, wheeling Switchfoot around to face Shean, reining him in to a halt. I waited for Shean.

"Val, I'm sorry, I –"

"No. Just leave me alone."

I pulled my right foot out of the stirrup and swung down, letting Switchfoot crop some grass while I sat on the ground cross-legged with my face in my hands. I heard a thump as Shean dismounted, letting Filly graze beside Switchfoot. He put his hands to mine and tried to pry them apart, but I turned my back to him and hugged my knees to my chest. He came around to face me and sat down in front of me.

"Val, I-"

"No. Shean, you know what? If you miss home _that_ badly, just use your travel ball and go _back_."

I stood up and walked away. I heard him get up and hurry after me, but I didn't look back.

"No, Val, _please_, I-"

I jumped up onto Switchfoot's back and galloped away, once again letting him carry me where he wanted to.

I had been riding for probably about fifteen or twenty minutes when I realized I should probably turn around or I wouldn't be able to find my way back. But with my first ride away from Shean and my latest flight, I found that I couldn't see the farm houses anymore. Or the farms. Or anything. It was all open plains, and I couldn't see any distinguishing landmarks anywhere nearby, just tall, thick scrub brush and rabbit dens.

Out of the blue, I was bowled off of my horse. I landed on the ground and could hear Switchfoot screaming, but I couldn't pay attention. I was too busy fighting for my life.

I had been knocked off by a pigmee. They were short, squat pig-ish people with small brains who lived in rabbit-like arrangements underground. Apparently, one of them had been thrown into the air by its comrades for the express purpose of pulling me from my horse. I tried to draw my sword as the little savages swarmed me, their evil little 'sticking' knives in their teeth. I managed to get it out and swung it around me, sweeping off a few of the vulgar little creatures, but more climbed on. I felt myself topple to the ground and a few got trapped under me.

"God, please help me," I prayed in a whisper as I tried to get to my feet with no success. "Please give me strength."

The stupid beasts were binding my feet together while they sat on my chest and tried to torture me. They may not be very smart, but they were known for their strong knots, which they tied with the long, nimble fingers. I wouldn't be able to retaliate on my feet. I managed to secure my sword in my sheath again, which, surprisingly, hadn't been trapped under me when I fell. Pulling my hands out from under the heavy bodies sitting on my torso, I muttered some words Relakk had taught Shean and me. Small balls of fire appeared in my hands, but the pigmees barely even flinched.

I shoved the fireballs in their faces, but they simply moved back an inch or two. I was getting desperate. This wasn't working; I had to think of something else.

And there weren't any other alternatives.

I had pigmees on my chest; my feet were bound; I had put my sword away; and my fire wasn't working. Oh great. Now a couple of the pigmees had come from up by my head and grabbed my wrists. My fire faded involuntarily as they tied my wrists.

Yes, definitely out of options.

The monsters got off of me and I wriggled onto my stomach to see what they were doing. I groaned and started to yell, partly at them, and partly hoping help would come, though I knew that was pretty nearly impossible.

They were bringing a stick. And not just any stick, but a smooth, straight, sturdy stick… the kind you see the savages put their captives on in movies, or the Indians sling deer onto in the old movies.

Two pigmees flipped me back over onto my back and picked up my hands. They pulled a rope between my hands and tied it over the rod, doing the same with my feet . I had no idea how they expected to carry me. The tallest couldn't have been more that three, maybe three and a half feet tall.

Then I saw the small ponies with saddles equipped with rings on the back that were obviously made to put the ends of the rod through being led over towards me. I groaned, trying to keep the blood from rushing to my head.

I closed my eyes. A minute later, I heard hoof beats approaching and braced myself to be loaded like a side of meat. Which, come to think of it, I probably was.

A/N: Well, that was fun. I've also got the next chapter started, but it'll be short.

Okay, now, replies to comments:

Jess1812 – Yeah, it's mainly just a filler chapter. Not my best one, but… meh, lol.

pussycat doll – Action added.

watrfairie – No, I'm not published, but I'm working on it. I'm hoping to get some short stories published (once they're written, lol), 'cause I finally found some markets. (everybody cheer! crickets chirp Fine) If you want some help with getting published, I can give you some pointers, 'cause though I've only been published in my LotR fan club's fanzine for a song for Eowyn and Faramir that everyone said was AWESOME (one person said it even made them cry), I've read a LOT about getting published, lol, and not the kind of stuff that just says, 'do this and get published', but the stuff that tells you how to improve your work so you have more of a chance of getting published. ;)

Okay, I think that's it. Wow, over one THOUSAND hits! I love you guys! Just curious: does anyone read the blog or the forum?

Also, I'm going to be working really hard on the script for my Star Wars fan film (will hopefully have a website up soon), but I'll still try to write on Fast Forward. But I wanted to let you guys know to not hold your breath, even if I have part of the next chapter written already, lol.


	37. Chapter 36: Rescue

A/N: Okay, well, I officially feel like a complete idiot. Part of the reason I didn't update was because I didn't have any ideas for how to keep going and still keep it interesting, partly because I now have something resembling a life. The other part is because even if I did have any ideas (and didn't have a life), I wouldn't be able to post any updates, because I had lost my disk that I use to transfer from my laptop where I write to my PC with the Internet. So here I am, having been looking for it for about two weeks, when I remember that I used it to transfer a picture to my PC to print for a birthday card for my friend back in September. So I went to look for it, and my mom was on the computer. I explained my problem and she goes, 'Did you look in the drawer'. I had, so she went, 'Did you look here?' and lifted up the keyboard. And, lo and behold, there it was. And I've been sitting at the computer twice a day for that whole time. So feel free to call me an idiot all you want.

Just wanted to explain why I haven't updated in pretty much forever. But I'm going to start trying for something like a chapter a month or something. Just bear with me, because I've got a lot going on right now. I'll explain after the chapter, since I'm sure you've already skipped this Author's Note anyways, lol.

**Chapter Thirty-six: Rescue and Discovery**

Without warning, I felt my arms and legs fall free from the rod that two pigmees were holding above their heads as pounding hoof beats rained down near my head and passed by. I opened my eyes.

To my surprise, Shean had come riding up and was going around, slashing pigmees left and right. He had apparently hacked off the hanging ropes that were attached to my hands and feet. He had nicked a bit of the rope on my hands with his sword and I manage to rub it on the 'sticking' knife of one of the dead pigmees that had fallen to the ground when it tried to attack Shean. I used my sword to cut my legs apart and ran to help Shean. The pigmees had tied Switchfoot behind their ponies, but he looked unhurt.

Shean sliced the ropes that had bound Switchfoot and wheeled Filly around on her haunches. Switchfoot ran over to me and I swung up in a move I had practiced practically since I could ride. The pigmees yelled and we could hear them pursuing, but even on their ponies, they weren't any match for two fit horses. We didn't even look back.

Once we were a safe distance away, I reined in, breathing hard and leaning on Switchfoot's neck.

"Well, that was quite a rescue," I commented somewhat sarcastic, joking tone to Shean, who had reined in too, but wasn't breathing as hard as I was, which annoyed me a bit.

"Yeah, well, try not to be so grateful."

I looked away. What was wrong with Shean? He would have usually laughed at my comment. I knew all this was hard on him, but he didn't _have_ to come with me on this quest, and I had had a similar experience trying to adjust when I went to America. The thing is, I didn't remember being so irritable.

"Shean, what's the matter?" I asked, dismounting to let Switchfoot graze for a few minutes and catch his wind. Shean didn't move, but let his reins fall down onto Filly's neck so she could graze, too. He put his hands on his saddle horn and stared down at me, reminding me of some statue of a Greek hero, just with medieval clothes on and maybe not such… chiseled features (no pun intended).

"I… Val, I miss my family. I even miss _Kaet_, and trust me, I never thought _that_ would happen. But…"

I eyed him. "But what?"

"But that's not the least of it. This whole 'magikk' thing is hard to swallow. I was brought up believing in science and that magic was something that you got by being a witch or something, and that most people who believed in, and 'used', magic didn't believe in God. But _you_ believe in God, and yet you also believe in magikk."

"But Shean, I was brought up believing in magikk, and magikk is just a gift that God has given us to use for His glory, just like He gave us our music and stuff back home to use for Him. It's not going against the Bible to use magikk."

"But it's still hard to accept."

"No one's trying to force you to… but, Shean, sooner or later, you're going to have to make a choice to either accept that magikk exists and that God gave it to us for His purposes, or you're going to have to decide to go home."

"Then maybe I _should_ go home."

I stared at him. I had thought that maybe earlier, he had just been angry and upset and hadn't thought about what he was saying. But now I was starting to think that maybe he really _did_ want to go home.

"Shean, I –" I began, but couldn't think of anything that I could say that wouldn't make him even more upset. He didn't reply. "No, you know what? I'm tired of trying to talk to you when you're so moody and just blow up at me when I try to say anything. I'm just gonna go find Relakk and find food and a bed."

I remounted and rode back towards where I knew Relakk must be, since I could see the smoke from houses curling up in the far distance, even with the sun starting to set. It took a couple minutes before I heard Filly's hoof beats following me.

I had barely spoken to Shean since the night before. We had restocked our supplies in silence while Relakk was in another part of the town getting supplies that we'd need for some of the magikk he needed to teach us or something.

We rode out just a little after nine. I let Switchfoot follow Filly and Shade and studied the map of the area surrounding the Syulikhung Mountains. We were definitely getting closer. By late tomorrow morning, we should reach the first obstacle: a bramble hedge that surrounded the whole mountain range, providing no place where we could get through easily, at least nothing that was indicated on the map.

"Relakk, what can we do about this? There's no way around it or through it as far as I can see," I complained, dismounting and pointing out the barrier. The other two dismounted too, following suit.

"Hm, that does put a damper on our quest. But no worries, Val, we'll find a way. Are you still interested in a sword Tool?" I nodded. "Well, Tools usually work better when they're made by their user or when their user puts some of their magikk into them while they are being made, but I think I can make a makeshift Tool for you out of your sword for now," Relakk offered. I grinned.

"That would be great."

"All right, then, give me your sword. I want you to hold it by the hilt with one hand and rest the flat edge between your thumb and your fingers."

I did as he instructed.

"Now, close your eyes. I want you to try to channel your magikk into the sword while I open the sword and bind the magikk there. You may feel very slightly drained, but you'll be back up in less than an hour."

I closed my eyes and let my magikk slowly flow out of me and into the sword. I lost track of time: it could have been a minute that I stood there with my sword in my hands, or it could have been five hours. I finally felt a hand prying my fingers open and I looked up to see Shean's impassive face looking at me as he pulled the sword hilt from me. I took a deep breath as I let it go.

"What was the point of that if it works better if it was made by me or at least had magikk put in it by me while it was _made_, Relakk?"

"Well, now you can put magikk into the sword without any effort, and with the extra strength, it can cut through the brambles," he explained as Shean handed me my sword and I put it away.

"Ah." I now felt a bit weak and started to sink to the ground after putting my sword back in its scabbard, but Shean caught me and gave me a boost onto Switchfoot's saddle. "Let's just make for that village that's on the map right near the hedge and see what we can do about it in the morning," I suggested as I tried not to nod off.

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A/N: Okay, first off, I'd like to apologize for being so darn late (again). I've gotten really busy with my job, and I may get a second job, too. I've been working on outlining a screenplay and I was cast in a fantasy audio drama called Weapons & Warfare (http/www . freewebs . com/ coteaudioproductions/ weaponswarfare . htm, just without the spaces). I've been trying to save up for the movie I'm working on the aforementioned screenplay for and come up with a sponsorship plan so that I can get funding so I can actually get good equipment and stuff. So, as you can see, I've finally gotten something resembling a life, as I said before. So don't worry: if I don't update for a couple weeks, I didn't die, I just got EXTRA busy, that's all.

**Just a quick poll in bold: If I started a free monthly or bi-monthly newsletter for Fast Forward/writing/reading (like fantasy and YA fic and stuff), would anyone be interested in subscribing to it? If there's enough interest, I may do it.**

Okay, on to the comments:

maria deluca – First: thank you, I'm EXTREMELY flattered that you'd like to 'kill' and/or 'maim' me and really, REALLY flattered that you've been skipping homework to read this. Just try to keep in mind that I have homework too, even if I don't have to do school twice since I'm homeschooled, but I do have a bit of a life, too, as I said in my above Author's Note. I can't write constantly, and even if I could, I don't always have ideas to continue the story. However, I do have one that will keep me going for at least a while, and comments like yours always make me try harder. So tell all your friends about the story and tell them to review it, and I may just post a new chapter sooner. ;)

watrfairie – Thanks for the review. I love you. You're so reliable for reviews! huggles

e-anaid – Yes, I'm a Christian, as you may be able to tell from some of the stuff in the story. In fact, at the moment, I'm working on outlining a Christian screenplay that I'm rather proud of. Thanks for the review.

Twist130 – Okay, so maybe this isn't 'soon', but it's an update, right? ;)

pussycat doll – Don't worry, I don't think I could stop writing if I wanted to.


	38. Chapter 37: Change

Chapter Thirty-seven: Change

We ended up getting through the brambles fine. (I know, I know, you were expecting a long recounting of it, but there's not much to tell, so why bother?)

Once through the brambles, we started to make our way up the mountain.

"Relakk, are we almost there yet?"

Relakk turned around to glare at me. What? I had only asked thirteen times before. Is there something wrong with that?

"Avalla Shirra Fealla Charlla, if you ask me that one time more, I swear, I will…"

He didn't finish, probably trying to think of something sufficiently horrible to do to me. I didn't help him.

"What do we have to find?" That was Shean.

I shrugged. "When I asked Mom last night, she said something about a tunnel leading through the whole mountain range."

Shean looked a bit brighter. "Well, that shouldn't be hard to find."

"Yeah, if you can actually _find_ it. It sounds a bit like Moria from LotR…"

Shean didn't look a bit brighter anymore. "Oh. Well, I guess we just have to find Gandalf and then…" He trailed off and I saw him sneaking a glance at Relakk. I gave him a look.

"Shean, don't even bother. We've got a bit of fire magic, and Mom said that it's something like that that'll find the door, so maybe Relakk can teach _us_ instead."

Shean sighed. "Fine."

I turned to Relakk and opened my mouth.

"Don't bother; I already heard you. I'm not _deaf_, you know." Relakk was in an irritable mood, apparently. "I can teach you some, but I'm not the authority on light and fire. I've taught you most of what I know of your other abilities, and this isn't any harder, I suppose."

I nodded meekly, having been thoroughly put back in my place. I moved ahead to ride with Shean.

"Okay, so we're making for a town. It's probably the last one we'll see, 'cause there's only handful on this mountain."

Shean nodded. At that moment, Relakk called us back.

"See up there?" He asked, pointing ahead. "That's the village we're making for."

We nodded. "Can we ride ahead?" I asked.

Relakk shook his head. "I'd prefer not."

We fell back with Relakk and rode on in silence.

We stayed at the village and left in the morning. There wasn't really anything out of the ordinary in our stay, except for the fact that a couple dwarves were also staying at the inn, but since we were on a mountain, that wasn't really unusual.

We made our way down a valley later that morning. The valley was gorgeous, but we weren't there to sight-see. One of the dwarves had told me that this was where the secret passage was, but no one had found it in decades.

Relakk had taught us the firelight spell the night before and Shean had been carving himself a Staff for his Tool, so we were both ready.

There wasn't any vegetation along the sides of the valley. It was lush in the middle, but there was a ring of hard stone ground on the edge around the green. Shean and I started at the same spot and worked the opposite way. My Sword looked odd, the blade completely alight, but I didn't care. Shean's Staff was lit up on the top like a flashlight and looked a lot cooler than mine.

We shone our flames along the bare rock side of the valley. Without warning, a section of the rock burst into flame and I jumped back, dropping my Sword in my surprise. It immediately went out once I lost my concentration.

I looked at the stone again. It wasn't just a random flame. It had a pattern. It looked like water rippling in a pond, but it stayed within a certain shape. The shape of a rounded arch, like… a door.

Relakk and Shean had noticed by now and come over. Relakk smiled broadly.

"Ah, just what we were looking for."

And to my surprise, he walked right up to the door, stuck his hand where the doorknob would be on a normal door and pushed.

And the door swung open.

Shean helped me up and I sheathed my Sword as we walked through the fire-door. I jumped when it snapped shut behind the three of us. Shean re-lit his Staff and we walked along slowly.

It wasn't really much like Moria from Lord of the Rings like I thought it might be. There were nooks and crannies in the walls, but the floor wasn't littered with bones, though it _was_ coated in dust.

I thought I heard something make a guttural noise somewhere to my right. I was just in time to block a thrust from a xavad, a furry, monkey-like creature that lived in caves and mines and were said to be great at ambushes.

I fended mine off, able to tell from the noise that the others had their own hairy little problems. They might have been good at ambushes, but they weren't the best swordsmen in the galaxy. We cut our way through them easily enough. Relakk led the way and we quickly left them behind, Shean and I leaving a wall of fire every once in a while to slow their progress.

We were abruptly and rudely cut off by a fast-moving underground river, which I almost fell into in our head-long dash. There were boats tied to stakes on the bank, and a rope running from one side to the other tied to poles, but other than that, there was no way across.

"Shean, should we do the old Hobbit crossing trick?"

Shean nodded and we started to rig one of the boats to the rope so we could pull ourselves across when Relakk waved his hands and pulled us back, halting our progress.

"This is the way we want to go. This river leads all the way through the passage to the landing that we're looking for. It will be far faster than walking."

Shean and I exchanged worried glances. Had Relakk noticed how fast that stinkin' river was? It had to be going between forty and sixty mph, I guessed, and it wasn't exactly a smooth ride. I tried to keep reminding myself that Relakk had the Wind and Water magikk, so he could keep the boat under control.

Relakk tied the boat so that it would come loose if we tugged on the rope the right way. The boat was built so that you could lay a couple people down on the bottom of the boat while someone steered and kept watch ahead, and someone else could sit in the front.

Relakk told me and Shean to lay down on the bottom of the boat and tie our provisions to ourselves so that if we got swept out, we'd at least save them. He made them airtight and filled them with air so they'd float, too. Sometimes it's rather handy to have a Wind and Water mage with you.

At first, Relakk made the water around us flow slower so that we didn't feel as insecure, but he slowly let it speed up to the normal speed of the. By the time we got up to that point, though, we were pretty used to it. The ride wasn't as bumpy as I'd thought it would be, but it wasn't exactly marble-flooring smooth, either.

All at once, the river turned into white water rapids. Shean and I tried to sit up. I glanced around nervously.

"Uh, Relakk, what's that sound?"

Relakk glanced at me, then looked at the river. He closed his eyes and trailed one hand in the river for a moment. He jerked up and stiffened.

"Shean, Avalla, hold onto each other."

"What is it, Relakk?" I demanded.

"There's a waterfall ahead."

"A _what_?"

"There's no time to talk. We'll be over it in less than a minute. Are you holding on to each other?"

"Yes…"

"Good."

Without warning, Shean and I were forcibly flung from our position in the boat (luckily, we had pulled our feet out from under the front seat) and thrown onto the bank by a strong air current. We jumped to our feet in time to see Relakk going down the falls with the boat. I screamed and half slid, half fell down the bank to the bottom of the waterfall. All I could think was that Relakk must have slowed the water around him again when he went down the falls after he pulled an air current to save me and Shean.

I looked around, expecting to see him crawling out of the water, wet, but unscathed. I almost cried when I saw it.

The boat was smashed on the rocks at the bottom of the waterfall. The water wasn't even a foot deep. I wasn't sure if Relakk had jumped, or if he had let the water carry him to the side and maybe he was on the other side of the bank.

And then… I saw the worst of it. There was something on the other side of the rocks. Something… that looked like cloth. I let out a muffled shriek and collapsed, but Shean caught me. He tried to get me to make sense, but all I could do was babble insanely. I don't remember what I said, but I remember him slapping me hard.

"Val, you're hysterical. _What_ did you see?"

Unable to speak, I simply pointed. And Shean almost dropped me.

We ran, Shean half carrying me, to the place. When we got there, I jerked away from the sight and hid my face in Shean's shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably.

It was Relakk. And he was most definitely dead.

He was horribly twisted and distorted, his limbs bent in decidedly unnatural positions. All I could think was that he died because of me. He died trying to save me. He spent all his energy pulling up a wind for us and couldn't grab one for himself. It was all my fault. I could just as well have been a killer. I must have been saying all this aloud, because the next thing I remember was Shean slapping me again.

"Val, we have to bury him. There are all sorts of things in here that would love to have him for breakfast."

"But I could have saved him. I could have teleported us out of there. I could have gotten us down here. In fact, I could probably have just teleported us straight to Syulichung the Valley and saved us all a long _trip_."

Shean shook me by the shoulders. "_Val_. You _know_ that you can't teleport us _anywhere_ safely without an image of our destination, and no one has been there in easily over a hundred and fifty years. Do you honestly think you could have done it?"

I sullenly shook my head. Why did Shean have to be so reasonable? Couldn't he just let me have my angst attack in peace?

"Now, come on, help me dig something at least resembling a grave. We can't leave him here. If we can make a shallow grave, we can weight it down with stones on top."

I listlessly helped Shean dig the grave with large flat stones. It took a while, but we finally managed something a couple feet deep and long enough to fit Relakk. I couldn't watch as Shean carried his body over and covered it with dirt, so I went to look for large rocks. I used my telekinesis to make them into a pile near Shean so he could start covering Relakk's grave.

I had already found most of the stones that we needed to cover the grave when I found one that would be perfect for the headstone. It wasn't traditionally-shaped, but I didn't want traditional. With the angry heat of my Fire magikk, I managed to burn out,

'Relakk: the greatest friend and mage-wizard that ever lived.

We will forever miss you and hope you will wait for us in heaven.

Forever, Avalla and Shean O'Connor'

I took a look at it. Not a work of art, but it would do. I took it back to Shean.

"What do you think?"

He smiled. "It's great. But you made it look like we have the same last name."

I blushed furiously. "Well, my name comes first in the alphabet, and I thought that… well, I –"

He cut me off with an affectionate hug. "Hey, it's okay. I know that you're kinda distraught right now. Forget it. Come on, let's put it up."

I used my telekinesis to wrap some nearby vine roots around the headstone to cement it in place. Shean and I used a spell Relakk had taught us to make an ever-burning, never-harming fire that would burn forever, but wouldn't burn anyone. But it would keep the vines from growing over the letters and it would keep Relakk's memory alive forever.

A/N: I know that I may not have written Relakk well enough for his death to make much of an impact on anyone but Val and Shean, but if it did, I apologize, and PLEASE don't kill me. Just remember: when things seem the worst, that's usually when they get better. (usually) Or sometimes they get even WORSE and THEN get better. But you'll have to wait and see, so you might want to hold off on killing me.

I'm sorry I haven't updated. I'm trying to bring the story to a close, and I think I know how, but they have to get the Hammer first, and I'm stuck on that. Yes, (blank), I'd already been planning to do some sort of riddler game thing, probably to get the Hammer, but I'm SO bad at them. Go take a look at The Ring Quest. I may have written it… wow, almost four years ago gasp, but I haven't gotten much better with my mind teasers and riddlers since then, lol. Then you'll see why I hesitate to use them. But if you have any ideas for something I could use, feel PERFECTLY FREE to e-mail them to me!

Life is also starting to catch up with me (again). I've been getting more hours at work, I've been working on finding cast and crew for my new movie project I'm planning for next year and finishing the script for it (second draft finished, which I'm rather proud of. The fact that it's done, not necessarily the script, though, lol), and I'm hoping to start a Christian radio station, even a small one, because Massachusetts really, really, REALLY, REALLY needs one. ;) And apparently I'm also being considered for dubbing the lead female role of a high-quality Italian Star Wars fan film.

But as long as I have ideas for Fast Forward (which I do. Got several plot twists, so keep tuned), I'll keep writing, so you don't have to keep telling me not to stop writing, lol. Trust me, I will.

I think I'm gonna wait to ask you guys questions until I've answered yours, because then maybe you'd be more inclined to answer them. ;)

pussycat doll – Thanks for the encouragement. It always helps.

Gayle – Thanks for the encouragement and understanding. You're such an awesome reader. huggles Gayle

Polly – Those are all great suggestions and I will definitely take them to heart. It's always so nice when people have suggestions for improvements or events that I can use. Like I said above, I stink with riddles and mind teasers, though, so I dunno if I'd be able to think of anything that's useable. ;)

Kat – As I've said numerous times now (to reassure you guys I'm not stopping), I've started to get a life, so I won't be updating every other day. I will update, but it'll probably be something more like once a month. However, if anyone wants to get me to update sooner, I'll repost the Fast Forward forum URL and people can post suggestions for stuff that can happen and remind me to write and stuff. Or I could do a newsletter for people who would like to pre-read (aka Beta read) Fast Forward before it's posted to I'm gonna number them to make them easier to answer. Here we go:

1) If I started updating my blog again, would anyone read it?

2) If I even tried to get an unabridged reading of Fast Forward organized, like what Bruce Colville does (but probably not as good sound quality since I don't think I'll have access to a recording studio, lol), would anyone be interested in listening to it?

3) What, in your opinion, would be a good prize for reader referrals?

4) Is Fast Forward worth rewriting in an original setting (or just taking out mentions of Ella Enchanted) and seeing about getting a literary agent and finding a publisher?

5) Would anyone still want to use that forum I made ages ago for Fast Forward?

6) If you'd like me to start a newsletter thing for Beta readers for Fast Forward, you can post your e-mail and make a note at the end of your review that says you're interested and would like to be added to the list.

I think that's it for now, and feel free to answer any questions that I forgot. Thanks for being such wonderful readers… mean stepmother voice now go review! end mean stepmother voice No, sorry, just joking.


	39. Chapter 38: Disagreements

**Chapter Thirty-eight: Disagreements Make for a Bumpy Ride**

I pulled one of the boats down with my telekinesis, since I could because I'd already seen them. It would be easier to carry the boat and then we wouldn't have to trek up and then back down to get the boat to the passable part of the river again. I wasn't really thinking too much about what we would do next. Shean was talking us through where the river would take us and what we would do there and yadda, yadda, yadda. I wasn't really listening. I was still thinking through what I could have done to save Relakk.

If I had realized sooner that we were coming up on a waterfall, I could have gotten a picture of the bank and teleported ALL of us there.

If I had realized sooner that we were coming up on a waterfall, I would have made sure Relakk was safe, too.

If I had realized sooner that we were coming up on a waterfall… I couldn't really think of anything else that I could have done, but I would have done SOMETHING else. I wouldn't have let Relakk die! I –

"VAL." Oh, Shean. It sounded like he'd said my name several times before getting my attention.

"Oh, hmm?"

"I SAID, how do you think we'll get the dwarves to give us the Hammer?"

"I don't know," I replied irritably. "Just leave me alone."

Shean sighed impatiently. "Val, THERE WAS NOTHING YOU COULD HAVE DONE," he stressed. "It was pretty much inevitable. It must have been God's will. You have to get over it and get on with life. Who knows how much time we have to get that Hammer and find Sselth's heart and destroy it. We have to keep focused on that and not dwell on the past."

"How can you be so cold-hearted?" I yelled. "He was your mentor and friend! He gave his LIFE for us, and all you can say is, 'get on with life'? Shean, you are the most im_possible_ human being I've ever _known._"

"Besides your parents?"

I _almost_ smiled, but not quite. I glowered at him. "Shean, I'm REALLY not open to jokes right now. Relakk just DIED for you; how can you not show any emotion about it? How can you seem to not even _notice_ that he's gone?"

Shean turned to face me head-on, a pained expression on his face. "How can you think I don't notice? I feel his loss more than you seem to realize. He may have been a pain in the neck near the end there, but he _was_ my friend, as you seemed to feel it so _necessary_ to point out. I _am_ hurting. Maybe I just don't show it the same way as you," he added in a quieter, more subdued tone and turned a stony face towards the ongoing river.

I winced. Rarely did Shean and I have such violent disagreements. The tension must be getting to us, I decided. But that didn't mean I had to take that kind of flak from him.

"Shean, if you don't leave me alone, I'll – I'll –"

"You'll _what_?" He interrupted hostilely. "Glare at me? Shoot fire from your _eyes_? Come off it, Val."

My mouth flapped open and shut, but no words came to me that would properly chastise him. "You – you – you –"

He rolled his eyes and turned back to the river. We both started to paddle furiously.

Because of that, we came out of the river sooner than I thought we would. We emerged into a huge lake, surrounded by mountains that illogically protruded to almost form a dome of sorts, their point meeting in the middle. It was the most amazing sight I'd ever seen. And we had to climb it.

A/N: Sorry I took so long to update again. But hey, at least I did. ;) Also, I need everyone who wants to Beta Read the coming chapters to **make a note of that at the END of your review, please!** I need to know so that I can start sending chapters to my Beta Readers before posting them…

Thank you so much to Guinevere and Kat, who were the only ones who actually reviewed the last chapter. huggles Sorry this is so short. I've been working on my script, and my friend and I are working on a cool new fantasy script. :D


	40. Apology to all my Readers

Okay, here's the deal: I'm no good at doing decent riddles. If you want to try to tell me otherwise, go read the riddles in The Ring Quest. I haven't improved much since I was 12. --' Improved in SONGWRITING: yes; riddles: no. ;) Plus, my flash drive disk decided to die on me a while ago, so even if I had an update to post, I wouldn't be able to post it, 'cause my laptop doesn't have Internet, so I have to use the flash drive disk to transport files to the computer that DOES have the Net. :(

Anyways, the reason I'm saying all this is because I need your help. I know some of you also suggested I do riddles instead of physical challenges to find the Stones. Well, since we're getting close to finding Sselth's Heart, I need a REALLY good riddle that Val has to solve to find the Heart. This is where you guys come in: if any of you are good at making riddles, feel free to post here: http/ or e-mail me (remember, put 'For Jaina Eowyn regarding FanFiction' or something similar in the subject line). I really don't want to continue until I have that hammered out, 'cause other than that, I have the rest of the story plotted out, but since finding Sselth's Heart is kind of the main goal in the story now, I'd prefer to get that done first. :)

And I wanted to apologize for not updating for the past few months. The whole riddle dilemma is the reason why, but I've been REALLY, REALLY busy with work and stuff lately, and keep forgetting to post something about it. :( I hope you'll all forgive me. Feel free to e-mail me; I'd love to hear from you guys. :-D (don't forget about the subject line title)

Also, I'm beginning the re-write for Fast Forward, since I can't update it until I think of a riddle. If any of you would like to be able to preview some of the chapters, e-mail me or post on the new forum and let me know. I'd be more than happy to e-mail people the chapters once they're written and I get a new flash drive disk. .


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